rcp(1) General Commands Manual rcp(1)
NAME
rcp - Copies files between a local and a remote host or between two remote hosts
SYNOPSIS
rcp [-pr] source destination
The remote copy command (rcp) is used to copy one or more files between the local host and a remote host, between two remote hosts, or
between files at the same remote host.
OPTIONS
Preserves the modification times and modes of the source files in the copies sent to the destination; extended file attributes (property
list), including the access control list (ACL), if any, are not copied. Without this option, the umask command at the destination modifies
the mode of the destination file, and the modification time of the destination file is set to the time the file is received. Copies recur-
sively, for directories only, each file and subdirectory in the source directory into the destination directory.
DESCRIPTION
By default, the mode and owner of an existing destination file are preserved. Normally, if a destination file does not exist, the mode of
the destination file is equal to the mode of the source file as modified by the umask command at the destination host. If the -p option is
set, the modification time and mode of source files are preserved at the destination host. If the file has extended file attributes (prop-
erty list), including the access control list (ACL), they are not copied and rcp returns the rcp: filename: proplist not copied message.
If a remote hostname is not specified for either the source or the destination, rcp is equivalent to the cp command.
When copying files to or from a remote host, any remote filename or directory name must be prefixed by the name of the remote host and a :
(colon). Local filenames and directory names do not need to have a host specified. However, since rcp assumes that a colon terminates a
hostname, local filenames or directory names must have a (backslash) inserted before any colons embedded in the name.
If you want to specify an IPv6 address for source or destination, you must prefix the address with the [ (backslash, left bracket) charac-
ters and terminate the address with the ] (backslash, right bracket) characters. Because the bracket characters are shell metacharacters,
you must precede them with the backslash character.
The username entered for the remote host determines the file access privileges rcp uses at that host. Additionally, the username given to
a destination host determines the ownership and access modes of the resulting destination file or files. If a hostname is not prefixed by
user@, the local username is used at the remote host. If a username is entered, that name is used. In either case, the remote host allows
access if one of the following conditions is satisfied: The local host is included in the remote host's /etc/hosts.equiv file and the
remote user is not the superuser. The local host and username is included in a $HOME/.rhosts file in the home directory of the remote user
account. For security reasons, any $HOME/.rhosts file must be owned by either the remote user or the root user and should have permissions
set to 600 (read and write by owner only).
In addition to the preceding conditions, rcp also allows access to the remote host if the remote user account does not have a password
defined. However, for security reasons, use of a password on all user accounts is recommended.
If the path for a file or directory on a remote host is not specified or is not fully qualified, the path is interpreted as beginning at
the home directory for the remote user account. Additionally, any metacharacters that must be interpreted at a remote host must be quoted
using (backslash), " " (double quotes), or ' ' (single quotes).
RESTRICTIONS
The rcp command is confused by output generated by commands in a file on the remote host. In particular, the messages, where are you? and
stty: Can't assign requested address can result if output is generated by the startup file.
EXAMPLES
To copy a file named localfile from the local host to a remote host named host2, enter: rcp localfile host2:/u/eng/fred To copy a remote
file named newplan from one remote host, host1, to another remote host, host2, enter: rcp host1:/u/eng/fred/newplan host2:/u/eng/mary To
send a directory subtree report from the local host to the home directory of a user named fred at a remote host named host2, and preserve
all modes and modification times, enter: rcp -p -r report fred@host2:report
The remote file /u/fred/.rhosts includes an entry specifying the local host and username.
FILES
Specifies remote hosts from which users can execute commands on the local host (provided these users have an account on the local host).
Specifies remote users who can use a local user account.
SEE ALSO
Commands: rsh(1), rlogin(1), rshd(8)
Files: rhosts(4)
rcp(1)