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How to use SCP to Copy Files Between Remote Hosts

  • Updated

Introduction

SCP (Secure Copy Protocol) allows you to copy files and directories between two remote systems or between a local machine and a remote machine. The SCP command uses SSH for data transfer.

In this article, we will discuss the SCP command which is used for file transfer with the help of an example

SCP uses SSH (Secure Shell) for file transfers to ensure the authenticity, encryption, and confidentiality of the data. Thus, there is no chance of snooping on the data in transit. This protocol allows clients to upload and download files and directories to and from a server. The default port for SCP is TCP port 22

SCP Command Syntax

Thescpcommand syntax takes the following form:

scp [Parameter] [user@][remote server 1 url or ip address:]path_of_sourcefile [user@][remote server 2 url or ip address:]path_of_destinationfile
  • [Parameter]- specifies the parameter that can be given to the SCP command.
    • Here are some of the details about SCP parameters:

       Parameter

       Description
      -r To recursively copy directories.
      -q Any information other than errors and the progress meter will be hidden.
      -C Used when sending data to its destination, it is compressed.
      -P Specifies the destination SSH port.
      -p Preserves file access times.
      For understanding various parameters that can be used in the SCP commands: Refer to this link
  • [user@]remote server 1 url or ip address:]path_of_sourcefile
  • [user@]remote server 2 url or ip address:]path_of_destinationfile

For example:

scp root@idrivecompute1.com:/files/file.txt root@idrivecompute2.com:/files/file.txt

Copy a File Between Two Remote Systems using thescpCommand

The following command will copy the file/files/file.txt from the remote server idrivecompute1.com to the directory/files on the remote server idrivecompute2.com.

scp user1@idrivecompute1.com/files/file.txt user2@idrivecompute2.com:/files

You will be prompted to enter the passwords for both remote accounts. After successful authentication, the data will be transferred directly from one remote system to the other.

If the server is SSH authenticated then the following command will copy the file to the destination location

Note: SSH public keys of both remote servers should be present in respective paths.

scp /files/file2.txt root@idrivecompute2.com:/files/file2.txt
  • With the "-3" option, traffic can be routed through the machine executing the command:
scp -3 user1@idrivecompute1.com:/files/file.txt user2@idrivecompute2.com:/files