SCP Cheatsheet

SCP stands for Secure Copy, it enables the secure transfer of files between two hosts over a network.

Basic Syntax: scp <options> <source> <destination>

Full Documentation for SCP:

scp(1): secure copy - Linux man page
scp copies files between hosts on a network. It uses ssh(1) for data transfer, and uses the same authentication and provides the same security as ssh(1).…

My Most Commonly Used SCP Commands.

SCP Cheatsheet
Command Purpose
scp user@remote:/path/to/remote/source /path/to/local/destination/ Copy file from remote source to local destination
scp /path/to/local/source user@remote:/path/to/remote/destination/ Copy file to remote destination from local source
scp -i ~/.ssh/myPrivateKey.pem user@remote:/path/to/remote/source /path/to/local/destination/ Copy file from remote source to local destination using SSH-Keys.
scp -i ~/.ssh/myPrivateKey.pem /path/to/local/source user@remote:/path/to/remote/destination/ Copy file to remote destination from local source.
SCP Options
Option Purpose
-r Transfers recursively, used for transferring a directory.
-v Verbose output, will display the transfer information in realtime.
-c Use compression for transfer.
-l int Limit the transfer throughput, good for shared connections, to limit network impact.
-p Preserve original attributes for each copied file.
-P Specify the connection port.
-q Quiet transfer mode. Do not display the output in shell.
-i Specify the private key / identity file to use for the connection.

Linux Shell Scripting Cookbook - Third Edition: Do amazing things with the shell and automate tedious tasks

Author(s): Clif Flynt, Sarath Lakshman, Shantanu Tushar

View on Amazon