SFTP(1)                                                     BSD General Commands Manual                                                    SFTP(1)

NAME

     sftp -- secure file transfer program

SYNOPSIS

     sftp [-46aCfpqrv] [-B buffer_size] [-b batchfile] [-c cipher] [-D sftp_server_path] [-F ssh_config] [-i identity_file] [-l limit]
          [-o ssh_option] [-P port] [-R num_requests] [-S program] [-s subsystem | sftp_server] host
     sftp [user@]host[:file ...]
     sftp [user@]host[:dir[/]]
     sftp -b batchfile [user@]host

DESCRIPTION

     sftp is an interactive file transfer program, similar to ftp(1), which performs all operations over an encrypted ssh(1) transport.  It may
     also use many features of ssh, such as public key authentication and compression.  sftp connects and logs into the specified host, then
     enters an interactive command mode.

     The second usage format will retrieve files automatically if a non-interactive authentication method is used; otherwise it will do so after
     successful interactive authentication.

     The third usage format allows sftp to start in a remote directory.

     The final usage format allows for automated sessions using the -b option.  In such cases, it is necessary to configure non-interactive
     authentication to obviate the need to enter a password at connection time (see sshd(8) and ssh-keygen(1) for details).

     Since some usage formats use colon characters to delimit host names from path names, IPv6 addresses must be enclosed in square brackets to
     avoid ambiguity.

     The options are as follows:

     -4      Forces sftp to use IPv4 addresses only.

     -6      Forces sftp to use IPv6 addresses only.

     -a      Attempt to continue interrupted transfers rather than overwriting existing partial or complete copies of files.  If the partial con-
             tents differ from those being transferred, then the resultant file is likely to be corrupt.

     -B buffer_size
             Specify the size of the buffer that sftp uses when transferring files.  Larger buffers require fewer round trips at the cost of
             higher memory consumption.  The default is 32768 bytes.

     -b batchfile
             Batch mode reads a series of commands from an input batchfile instead of stdin.  Since it lacks user interaction it should be used in
             conjunction with non-interactive authentication.  A batchfile of '-' may be used to indicate standard input.  sftp will abort if any
             of the following commands fail: get, put, reget, reput, rename, ln, rm, mkdir, chdir, ls, lchdir, chmod, chown, chgrp, lpwd, df,
             symlink, and lmkdir.  Termination on error can be suppressed on a command by command basis by prefixing the command with a '-' char-
             acter (for example, -rm /tmp/blah*).

     -C      Enables compression (via ssh's -C flag).

     -c cipher
             Selects the cipher to use for encrypting the data transfers.  This option is directly passed to ssh(1).

     -D sftp_server_path
             Connect directly to a local sftp server (rather than via ssh(1)).  This option may be useful in debugging the client and server.

     -F ssh_config
             Specifies an alternative per-user configuration file for ssh(1).  This option is directly passed to ssh(1).

     -f      Requests that files be flushed to disk immediately after transfer.  When uploading files, this feature is only enabled if the server
             implements the "fsync@openssh.com" extension.

     -i identity_file
             Selects the file from which the identity (private key) for public key authentication is read.  This option is directly passed to
             ssh(1).

     -l limit
             Limits the used bandwidth, specified in Kbit/s.

     -o ssh_option
             Can be used to pass options to ssh in the format used in ssh_config(5).  This is useful for specifying options for which there is no
             separate sftp command-line flag.  For example, to specify an alternate port use: sftp -oPort=24.  For full details of the options
             listed below, and their possible values, see ssh_config(5).

                   AddressFamily
                   BatchMode
                   BindAddress
                   CanonicalDomains
                   CanonicalizeFallbackLocal
                   CanonicalizeHostname
                   CanonicalizeMaxDots
                   CanonicalizePermittedCNAMEs
                   CertificateFile
                   ChallengeResponseAuthentication
                   CheckHostIP
                   Ciphers
                   Compression
                   ConnectionAttempts
                   ConnectTimeout
                   ControlMaster
                   ControlPath
                   ControlPersist
                   GlobalKnownHostsFile
                   GSSAPIAuthentication
                   GSSAPIDelegateCredentials
                   HashKnownHosts
                   Host
                   HostbasedAuthentication
                   HostbasedKeyTypes
                   HostKeyAlgorithms
                   HostKeyAlias
                   HostName
                   IdentitiesOnly
                   IdentityAgent
                   IdentityFile
                   IPQoS
                   KbdInteractiveAuthentication
                   KbdInteractiveDevices
                   KexAlgorithms
                   LogLevel
                   MACs
                   NoHostAuthenticationForLocalhost
                   NumberOfPasswordPrompts
                   PasswordAuthentication
                   PKCS11Provider
                   Port
                   PreferredAuthentications
                   ProxyCommand
                   ProxyJump
                   PubkeyAcceptedKeyTypes
                   PubkeyAuthentication
                   RekeyLimit
                   SendEnv
                   ServerAliveInterval
                   ServerAliveCountMax
                   StrictHostKeyChecking
                   TCPKeepAlive
                   UpdateHostKeys
                   UsePrivilegedPort
                   User
                   UserKnownHostsFile
                   VerifyHostKeyDNS

     -P port
             Specifies the port to connect to on the remote host.

     -p      Preserves modification times, access times, and modes from the original files transferred.

     -q      Quiet mode: disables the progress meter as well as warning and diagnostic messages from ssh(1).

     -R num_requests
             Specify how many requests may be outstanding at any one time.  Increasing this may slightly improve file transfer speed but will
             increase memory usage.  The default is 64 outstanding requests.

     -r      Recursively copy entire directories when uploading and downloading.  Note that sftp does not follow symbolic links encountered in the
             tree traversal.

     -S program
             Name of the program to use for the encrypted connection.  The program must understand ssh(1) options.

     -s subsystem | sftp_server
             Specifies the SSH2 subsystem or the path for an sftp server on the remote host.  A path is useful when the remote sshd(8) does not
             have an sftp subsystem configured.

     -v      Raise logging level.  This option is also passed to ssh.

INTERACTIVE COMMANDS

     Once in interactive mode, sftp understands a set of commands similar to those of ftp(1).  Commands are case insensitive.  Pathnames that con-
     tain spaces must be enclosed in quotes.  Any special characters contained within pathnames that are recognized by glob(3) must be escaped
     with backslashes ('').

     bye     Quit sftp.

     cd path
             Change remote directory to path.

     chgrp grp path
             Change group of file path to grp.  path may contain glob(3) characters and may match multiple files.  grp must be a numeric GID.

     chmod mode path
             Change permissions of file path to mode.  path may contain glob(3) characters and may match multiple files.

     chown own path
             Change owner of file path to own.  path may contain glob(3) characters and may match multiple files.  own must be a numeric UID.

     df [-hi] [path]
             Display usage information for the filesystem holding the current directory (or path if specified).  If the -h flag is specified, the
             capacity information will be displayed using "human-readable" suffixes.  The -i flag requests display of inode information in addi-
             tion to capacity information.  This command is only supported on servers that implement the ``statvfs@openssh.com'' extension.

     exit    Quit sftp.

     get [-afPpr] remote-path [local-path]
             Retrieve the remote-path and store it on the local machine.  If the local path name is not specified, it is given the same name it
             has on the remote machine.  remote-path may contain glob(3) characters and may match multiple files.  If it does and local-path is
             specified, then local-path must specify a directory.

             If the -a flag is specified, then attempt to resume partial transfers of existing files.  Note that resumption assumes that any par-
             tial copy of the local file matches the remote copy.  If the remote file contents differ from the partial local copy then the resul-
             tant file is likely to be corrupt.

             If the -f flag is specified, then fsync(2) will be called after the file transfer has completed to flush the file to disk.

             If either the -P or -p flag is specified, then full file permissions and access times are copied too.

             If the -r flag is specified then directories will be copied recursively.  Note that sftp does not follow symbolic links when perform-
             ing recursive transfers.

     help    Display help text.

     lcd path
             Change local directory to path.

     lls [ls-options [path]]
             Display local directory listing of either path or current directory if path is not specified.  ls-options may contain any flags sup-
             ported by the local system's ls(1) command.  path may contain glob(3) characters and may match multiple files.

     lmkdir path
             Create local directory specified by path.

     ln [-s] oldpath newpath
             Create a link from oldpath to newpath.  If the -s flag is specified the created link is a symbolic link, otherwise it is a hard link.

     lpwd    Print local working directory.

     ls [-1afhlnrSt] [path]
             Display a remote directory listing of either path or the current directory if path is not specified.  path may contain glob(3) char-
             acters and may match multiple files.

             The following flags are recognized and alter the behaviour of ls accordingly:

             -1      Produce single columnar output.

             -a      List files beginning with a dot ('.').

             -f      Do not sort the listing.  The default sort order is lexicographical.

             -h      When used with a long format option, use unit suffixes: Byte, Kilobyte, Megabyte, Gigabyte, Terabyte, Petabyte, and Exabyte
                     in order to reduce the number of digits to four or fewer using powers of 2 for sizes (K=1024, M=1048576, etc.).

             -l      Display additional details including permissions and ownership information.

             -n      Produce a long listing with user and group information presented numerically.

             -r      Reverse the sort order of the listing.

             -S      Sort the listing by file size.

             -t      Sort the listing by last modification time.

     lumask umask
             Set local umask to umask.

     mkdir path
             Create remote directory specified by path.

     progress
             Toggle display of progress meter.

     put [-afPpr] local-path [remote-path]
             Upload local-path and store it on the remote machine.  If the remote path name is not specified, it is given the same name it has on
             the local machine.  local-path may contain glob(3) characters and may match multiple files.  If it does and remote-path is specified,
             then remote-path must specify a directory.

             If the -a flag is specified, then attempt to resume partial transfers of existing files.  Note that resumption assumes that any par-
             tial copy of the remote file matches the local copy.  If the local file contents differ from the remote local copy then the resultant
             file is likely to be corrupt.

             If the -f flag is specified, then a request will be sent to the server to call fsync(2) after the file has been transferred.  Note
             that this is only supported by servers that implement the "fsync@openssh.com" extension.

             If either the -P or -p flag is specified, then full file permissions and access times are copied too.

             If the -r flag is specified then directories will be copied recursively.  Note that sftp does not follow symbolic links when perform-
             ing recursive transfers.

     pwd     Display remote working directory.

     quit    Quit sftp.

     reget [-Ppr] remote-path [local-path]
             Resume download of remote-path.  Equivalent to get with the -a flag set.

     reput [-Ppr] [local-path] remote-path
             Resume upload of [local-path].  Equivalent to put with the -a flag set.

     rename oldpath newpath
             Rename remote file from oldpath to newpath.

     rm path
             Delete remote file specified by path.

     rmdir path
             Remove remote directory specified by path.

     symlink oldpath newpath
             Create a symbolic link from oldpath to newpath.

     version
             Display the sftp protocol version.

     !command
             Execute command in local shell.

     !       Escape to local shell.

     ?       Synonym for help.

SEE ALSO

     ftp(1), ls(1), scp(1), ssh(1), ssh-add(1), ssh-keygen(1), glob(3), ssh_config(5), sftp-server(8), sshd(8)

     T. Ylonen and S. Lehtinen, SSH File Transfer Protocol, draft-ietf-secsh-filexfer-00.txt, January 2001, work in progress material.

BSD                                                                 May 3, 2017                                                                BSD