> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://snubmonkey.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # SCP Command on Linux Systems. - URL: https://snubmonkey.com/scp-command-to-securely-transfer-files/ - Published: 2021-04-16T12:21:00.000Z - Updated: 2025-04-16T22:52:18.000Z - Description: SCP (Secure Copy Protocol) is a command-line tool in Linux and Unix-like (UN*X) systems that is used to transfer/ copy files and directories across the systems in a secure way over the network. - Author: Scarlett Clarke - Tags: linux šŸ§, security šŸ¦¾šŸ¦æ The `scp` command uses SSH to transfer data, so it requires either key or password-based authentication. Unlike RCP or FTP, `scp` encrypts both the file and any passwords exchanged so that anyone snooping on the network cannot get anything sensitive. With `scp`, you can copy a file or directory: - From your local system to a remote system. - From a remote system to your local system. - Between two remote systems from your local system. ### SCP Command Syntax The `scp` command syntax goes as follows: ```zsh scp [OPTION] [user@]SRC_HOST:]file1 [user@]DEST_HOST:]file2 ``` - `OPTION` \- SCP options such as cipher, SSH configuration, SSH port, limit, recursive copy ā€¦etc. - The colon (`:`) is how `scp` distinguish between local and remote locations. - `[user@]SRC_HOST:]file1` \- Source file. - `[user@]DEST_HOST:]file2` \- Destination file Be careful when copying files that share the same name and location on both systems, `scp` will overwrite files without warning. **Options:** - `-p` \- Preserves file modification and access times. - `-q` \- Use this option if you want to suppress the progress meter and non-error messages. - `-C` \- By default **`SCP`** using "AES-128" to encrypt files. If you want to use another cipher feel free. - `-r` \- This option tells `scp` to copy directories recursively. - `-P` \- Specifies the remote host ssh port. - `-v` \- Print debug information. It can help you debug connection, authentication, and configuration problems. - `-C` \- This parameter will compress your files on the go. When the file arrives at the destination server, it will return to its original size. - `-l` \- This option will limit the bandwidth to use. It will be useful if you do an automation script to copy a lot of files, but you donā€™t want the bandwidth to be drained by the **`SCP`** process. - `-3` \- Copies between two remote hosts are transferred through the local host. Without this option, the data is copied directly between the two remote hosts. This option also disables the progress meter. ### Copy a Local File to a Remote System To copy a file from a local to a remote system run the following command: ```zsh $ scp file.txt remote_username@10.10.0.9:/remote/directory ``` Where `file.txt` is the name of the file we want to copy, `remote_username` is the user on the remote server, `10.10.0.9` is the server IP address. This `/remote/directory` is the path to the directory you want to copy the file to. For any reason; if you donā€™t specify a remote directory, the file will be copied to the remote user's home directory. You will be prompted to enter the user password, and the transfer process will start. Below is the output: ```zsh Output remote_username@10.10.0.9's password: file.txt 100% 0 0.0KB/s 00:00 ``` \*Excluding the filename from the destination location copies the file with the original name. If you want to save the file under a different name, you need to specify the new file name: ```zsh scp file.txt remote_username@10.10.0.9:/remote/directory/newfilename.txt ``` ### SCP to a different port If SSH on the remote host is listening on a port other than the default 22 then you must specify the port using the `-P` argument: ```zsh scp -P 12202 file.txt remote_username@10.10.0.9:/remote/directory ``` ### SCP Recursively To achieve this, we'll use the `-r` flag, which tells `scp` to recursively copy all of the directory's contents to a remote system. ```zsh scp -r /local/directory remote_username@10.10.0.9:/remote/directory ``` ### Copy a Remote File to a Local System For example to copy a file named `file.txt` from a remote server with IP `10.10.0.9` run the following command: ```zsh scp remote_username@10.10.0.9:/remote/file.txt /local/directory ``` ### Copy a File Between Two Remote Systems Note that, unlike `rsync` , when using `scp` you donā€™t have to log in to one of the servers to transfer files from one to another remote machine. The following command will copy the file `/files/file.txt` from the remote host `host1.com` to the directory `/files` on the remote host `host2.com`. ```zsh scp user1@host1.com:/files/file.txt user2@host2.com:/files ``` If both hosts use different ports on SSH (i.e. 12202 and 2021), here is how to specify these ports to the SCP command. ```zsh scp://user1@host1:port 12202/path/to/file1 scp://user2@host2:port 2021/path/to/file2 ``` Once the connection is initiated, you will be asked for the passwords for both remote destinations. The data will be transferred directly from one remote host to the other. ### Rerouting traffic To route the traffic through the local host (machine on which the command is issued), use the `-3` option: ```zsh scp -3 user1@host1.com:/files/file.txt user2@host2.com:/files ``` That's all there is to it. As you can see, using the `scp` command ensures authenticity and confidentiality when transferring/ copying data from a remote host to your local host and vice versa. Thatā€™s what Linux is all about, invest your time in understanding some basics.