General

SCP Cheatsheet

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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.

Guide Description
How to Use SCP Command to Securely Transfer Files Full scp guide with practical examples
SSH Command in Linux SSH options, authentication, and connection examples
How to Use Linux SFTP Command to Transfer Files Interactive secure file transfer over SSH
How to Use Rsync for Local and Remote Data Transfer Incremental sync and directory transfer
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