Basic Syntax #
Use this general form for scp commands.
| Command |
Description |
scp SOURCE DEST
|
General scp syntax |
scp file.txt user@host:/path/ |
Copy local file to remote |
scp user@host:/path/file.txt . |
Copy remote file to current directory |
scp user@host:/path/file.txt /local/path/ |
Copy remote file to local directory |
Upload Files #
Copy local files to a remote host.
| Command |
Description |
scp file.txt user@host:/tmp/ |
Upload one file |
scp file1 file2 user@host:/tmp/ |
Upload multiple files |
scp *.log user@host:/var/log/archive/ |
Upload matching files |
scp -p file.txt user@host:/tmp/ |
Preserve modification times and mode |
Download Files #
Copy files from a remote host to your local system.
| Command |
Description |
scp user@host:/tmp/file.txt . |
Download to current directory |
scp user@host:/tmp/file.txt ~/Downloads/ |
Download to specific directory |
scp user@host:'/var/log/*.log' . |
Download remote wildcard (quoted) |
scp user@host:/tmp/file.txt ./new-name.txt |
Download and rename locally |
Copy Directories #
Use -r for recursive directory transfers.
| Command |
Description |
scp -r dir/ user@host:/tmp/ |
Upload directory recursively |
scp -r user@host:/var/www/ ./backup/ |
Download directory recursively |
scp -r dir1 dir2 user@host:/tmp/ |
Upload multiple directories |
scp -rp project/ user@host:/srv/ |
Recursive copy and preserve attributes |
Ports, Keys, and Identity #
Connect with custom SSH settings.
| Command |
Description |
scp -P 2222 file.txt user@host:/tmp/ |
Use custom SSH port |
scp -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 file.txt user@host:/tmp/ |
Use specific private key |
scp -o IdentityFile=~/.ssh/id_ed25519 file.txt user@host:/tmp/ |
Set key with -o option |
scp -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes file.txt user@host:/tmp/ |
Enforce host key verification |
Performance and Reliability #
Tune speed, verbosity, and resilience.
| Command |
Description |
scp -C large-file.iso user@host:/tmp/ |
Enable compression |
scp -l 8000 file.txt user@host:/tmp/ |
Limit bandwidth (Kbit/s) |
scp -v file.txt user@host:/tmp/ |
Verbose output for debugging |
scp -q file.txt user@host:/tmp/ |
Quiet mode |
scp -o ConnectTimeout=10 file.txt user@host:/tmp/ |
Set connection timeout |
Remote to Remote Copy #
Transfer files between two remote hosts.
| Command |
Description |
scp user1@host1:/path/file user2@host2:/path/ |
Copy between remote hosts |
scp -3 user1@host1:/path/file user2@host2:/path/ |
Route transfer through local host |
scp -P 2222 user1@host1:/path/file user2@host2:/path/ |
Use custom port (applies to both hosts) |
Common Patterns #
Frequently used command combinations.
| Command |
Description |
scp -r ./site user@host:/var/www/ |
Deploy static site files |
scp -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 -P 2222 backup.sql user@host:/tmp/ |
Upload with key and custom port |
scp user@host:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf ./ |
Pull config for review |
scp -rp ./configs user@host:/etc/myapp/ |
Copy configs and keep metadata |
Troubleshooting #
| Check |
Command |
| Permission denied |
Verify user has write access to the destination path |
Host key verification failed |
ssh-keygen -R hostname to remove old key, then retry |
| Connection refused on custom port |
scp -P PORT file user@host:/path/ (uppercase -P) |
| Transfer stalls or times out |
scp -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o ServerAliveInterval=15 file user@host:/path/ |
Not a regular file error |
Add -r for directories: scp -r dir/ user@host:/path/ |
Protocol error on OpenSSH 9.0+ |
scp -O file user@host:/path/ to use legacy SCP protocol |
| Debug connection issues |
scp -v file user@host:/path/ for verbose SSH output |
Related Guides #
Use these articles for detailed file transfer and SSH workflows.
