How to copy files securely between servers using the scp (secure copy protocol) command
Jul 2, 2023
The scp command in unix systems transfers files or directories securely between a local and a remote system, or two distant systems. It employs the same authentication and security measures as the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol.
Syntax
scp [option] user@sourcehost:source user@desthost:destination
- option — scp options include cryptography, ssh configuration, ssh port, limit, recursive copy, and so on.
- user@sourcehost:source — source file
- user@desthost:destination — destination file
Examples
1 — Copy a file from a local server to a remote server
scp [file_name] remoteuser@remotehost:/remote/directory/
scp file.txt charles@10.143.90.2:/home/charles/
2 — Copy a file from a remote server to a local server
scp user@remotehost:/home/user/file_name ~/path/to/destination/
scp charles@10.143.90.2:/home/charles/file.txt ~/home/
