scp

Additional Notes

scp copies files between local and remote systems over SSH. It is simple and widely available, making it useful for quick transfers, one-off uploads, and basic server administration.

For repeated syncs, resumable transfers, deletes, or large directory trees, rsync is usually better because it can copy only changed data.

Syntax

scp [options] source destination
scp [options] file user@host:/remote/path
scp [options] user@host:/remote/file local/path

Parameters

• source: Local path or remote path in user@host:path form.
• destination: Local or remote destination.
• user: Remote username.
• host: Remote hostname or IP address.
• options: SSH and copy behavior flags.

Common Options

• -r: Copy directories recursively.
• -P PORT: Connect to a custom SSH port. This is uppercase P.
• -i FILE: Use a specific private key.
• -p: Preserve modification times, access times, and modes.
• -C: Enable SSH compression.
• -v: Verbose SSH output for debugging.
• -l LIMIT: Limit bandwidth in Kbit/s.

Examples

scp file.txt user@example.com:/tmp/

Copy a local file to a remote directory.

scp user@example.com:/var/log/app.log ./

Copy a remote file to the current local directory.

scp -r site/ user@example.com:/var/www/site

Copy a directory recursively.

scp -P 2222 -i ~/.ssh/deploy_key backup.tar.gz user@example.com:

Use a custom SSH port and key.

Practical Notes

• scp uses SSH authentication and host-key checks.
• Quote remote paths that contain spaces or shell characters.
• For large deployments, prefer rsync -avz because it is restart-friendly and efficient.