sftp

Additional Notes

sftp transfers files interactively over SSH. It provides interactive and batch-mode file transfer over an encrypted SSH connection, so it works wherever SSH works without extra setup.

sftp uses the same authentication and encryption as SSH. In an interactive session you use get to download and put to upload. Paths are relative to the remote home directory unless you change directory first.

Syntax

sftp [options] [user@]host[:path]

Parameters

• options: Flags that change how sftp behaves.
• user: Remote SSH username.
• host: Remote hostname or IP address.
• path: Optional remote directory to open on connect.

Common Options

• -P PORT: Connect to a custom SSH port.
• -i FILE: Use a specific private key.
• -b FILE: Run commands from a batch file, then exit.
• -o OPTION: Pass an SSH option such as Port=2222.
• -r: Recurse into directories for get/put.

Interactive Commands

• ls: List remote files.
• lls: List local files.
• cd DIR: Change the remote directory.
• lcd DIR: Change the local directory.
• get FILE: Download a file from remote to local.
• get -r DIR: Download a directory recursively.
• put FILE: Upload a file from local to remote.
• put -r DIR: Upload a directory recursively.
• mget *.log: Download multiple matching files.
• rm FILE / mkdir DIR: Remove files or make remote directories.
• bye or exit: Close the session.

Examples

sftp user@example.com

Open an interactive session, then use ls, get, and put.

sftp -P 2222 user@example.com

Connect over a custom SSH port.

sftp -i ~/.ssh/deploy_key user@example.com

Authenticate with a specific key.

sftp -b batch.txt user@example.com

Run a list of transfer commands from batch.txt non-interactively.

# batch.txt
cd /var/www
put site.tar.gz
ls -l
bye

sftp user@example.com:/backups

Connect and open the remote /backups directory immediately.

Practical Notes

• Inside sftp, prefix a command with l (such as lls, lcd) to act on the local side.
• Use -r for directory transfers; a plain put copies only a single file.
• For scripting, scp and rsync -e ssh are often simpler than batch sftp.
• The connection reuses your SSH config, keys, and known_hosts trust.