scp cheatsheet

scp is a tool to securely copy files across remote and local systems using the SSH protocol. There are similar tools like sftp and rsync. However, scp is simpler than those tools and is the closest analog of the Unix cp command. It is the best tool when you know the source and destination paths and all you want is to copy files.

• To copy a file from a remote system to your local system:

$ scp your-name@remote-system:/path/on/remote/system /path/on/local/system

Since scp uses SSH, it will use your SSH key pairs if they are available or prompt you for the remote password if needed.

• To copy a file from your local system to a remote system:

$ scp /path/on/local/system your-name@remote-system:/path/on/remote/system

• Wildcards or globbing patterns can be used to filter and copy multiple files. But remember to enclose them in single quotes so that the local shell does not try to expand them:

$ scp 'your-name@remote-system:/path/on/remote/system/*.h' /path/on/local/system

• To copy all the contents of a directory:

$ scp -r your-name@remote-system:/path/on/remote/system /path/on/local/system

Tried with: Ubuntu 18.04