SSH – Difference Between SCP and SFTP

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Usually, I use the scp command to transfer files on *nixes.

What's the difference between SFTP and SCP? Don't they both work on SSH?

Best Answer

In a nutshell, SCP can only be used for transferring files, and it is non-interactive (i.e., everything has to be specified on the command line). SFTP is more elaborate, and allows interactive commands to do things like creating directories, deleting directories and files (all subject to system permissions, of course), etc.

Related Solutions

Copy files between two remote servers with SFTP

To enable file transfer between two remote machines, you'll need to SSH/Telnet/Remote/VNC etc. into one of them and initiate the transfer from there. Any other alternative involving your local machine will necessitate transferring the files to your local first.

SCP File Transfer Between Two Networks

You should be able to use an SSH tunnel.

Assuming you're trying to transfer a file from a remote computer ("remote") to your local computer ("local"), establish the tunnel via the third computer ("gateway") by typing this on your local computer:

ssh -fNL 12345:remote:22 gatewaylogin@gateway

Then you can run an unlimited amount of SCP commands on this tunnel (still typing on your local computer):

scp -P 12345 remotelogin@localhost://path/to/remote/file /local/path/where/you/want/file

I just tested this on my network, and it worked perfectly.

The above method is fine if the remote network is secure, but if it is not secure, you'd need to establish a tunnel between local and gateway, and another tunnel between gateway and remote, linking the two by a common port number.

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Related Solutions

Copy files between two remote servers with SFTP

SCP File Transfer Between Two Networks

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