Linux scp from remote to remote

Linux copy directory and contents from remote to local & vice versa

Table of Contents

In this tutorial I will share commands and examples to cover below scenarios:

• Unix and Linux copy directory and contents using rsync remote to local server
• Unix and Linux copy directory and contents using rsync to remote server
• Unix and Linux copy directory and files using scp from local to remote server
• Unix and Linux copy directory and files using scp from remote to local server
• scp recursive to copy directory and contents in Unix and Linux
• Unix and Linux copy file from ssh to local server

There are various commands available in Linux to copy directory and contents from one server to another in Linux. I have also written another article on similar topic with 5 commands to copy files from one server to another in Linux

In this article I will share the commands and arguments in Linux copy directory and files using scp from local to remote server, scp from remote to local server, rsync remote to local and rsync to remote server in Linux.

Copy directory and files from local to remote server

• You can use either scp or rsync to copy folder and files from local to ssh or copy folder and files from ssh to local within in the same or different directory.
• By default copy files and folders happen sequentially. If you wish to copy directory and contents in parallel then you must use pscp or pssh tool.
• You can also configure password less copy from local to remote or from remote to local, so you don’t have to provide password every time you try to copy files and folder between servers. This is very useful for automation.

1. Linux copy directory and files with scp recursive

• scp is a secure remote copy tool which is used to copy directory and contents between multiple Linux server.
• To copy only files from local to remote server, you do not need any extra argument with scp.
• But to copy directory and contents we need scp recursive using » -r » argument
• If you use scp without ‘ -r ‘ then the tool can only copy files (and not directories) from local to remote server or vice versa.

1.1: Keep «same» directory name with scp from local to remote server

In this scp syntax, we will keep the same directory name after copying directory and its contents to remote server

scp syntax:

Let me copy all files in directory /tmp/deepak from local to remote server under /home/temp/ on the remote server.

Below are the /tmp/deepak directory content on my localhost , so I will copy all files in directory /tmp/deepak with scp recursive to remote server.

So next using scp recursive I will copy directory and contents from local to remote Linux server

In this example, the directory name will be same on local and remote server as we are not giving » / » after giving the directory name on localhost with scp (as highlighted).

The ssh copy file from local to remote was successful. Next validate the transfer on the remote server

1.2: Change directory name with scp from local to remote server

If you wish to copy directory /tmp/deepak to remote server using a different directory name then use the below syntax

scp syntax:

Here if you observe the scp syntax, I have provided » /* » at the end of directory name in localhost. So here we copy all files in directory /tmp/deepak and store it under /home/temp/rahul/ on remote server

So you see this forward slash (/) is very important for scp from local to remote server.

Execute the command in below format

All files under directory /tmp/deepak are successfully copied to remote server. Validate the content on server2 node.

2. Copy folder and files using rsync from local to remote server

• rsync is another better alternative to copy directory and contents from local to remote server in Linux and Unix.
• It is famous for its delta-transfer algorithm, which reduces the amount of data sent over the network by sending only the differences between the source files and the existing files in the destination.
• Rsync is widely used for backups and mirroring and as an improved copy command for everyday use
• Rsync finds files that need to be transferred using a «quick check» algorithm (by default) that looks for files that have changed in size or in last-modified time.

2.1: Keep «same» directory name with rsync from local to remote server

In this rsync syntax, we will change the directory name after copying directory and its contents to remote server. The logic remains the same for both scp and rsync

rsync syntax:

In this example we will use rsync to copy directory and contents from ( /tmp/deepak ) to remote host under /home/temp

Follow rsync man page for more details. Here,

After rsync copy, validate the transfer on the remote server. So the directory name is same on local and remote server after transfer.

2.2: Change directory name with rsync from local to remote server

Next we will use rsync to copy directory and contents of /tmp/deepak to a different folder on the remote server inside /home/temp/rahul .

So we will change the directory name from deepak on localhost to rahul on remote server

rsync syntax:

Next execute the command in the below syntax

After the transfer, validate the content on the remote node

Copy directory and files from remote to local server

We can use the same tool scp recursive and rsync to copy directory and contents from remote to local server in Linux and Unix. Although the syntax to copy from ssh to local will vary for rsync and scp

1. Linux copy directory and files with scp recursive from remote to local server

We will again use scp recursive to perform scp from remote to local server in Linux and Unix

To use scp recursive we must use scp with -r argument.

1.1: Keep «same» directory name with scp from remote to local server

Check the scp syntax to copy files from remote to local server for more details

Syntax for scp:

To scp from remote to local server, below is the content on my remote host ( server2 ) under /home/temp/deepak which I wish to copy on my localhost ( server1 ) under /tmp/deepak

Below is the command to copy directory and contents using scp from remote to local server in Linux and Unix

NOTE that I have not provided a forward slash (/) after the source directory to keep the same directory name after copy from remote to local server.

Validate the content on localhost server1 under /tmp/ where we had copied the content. As you see we have directory deepak now on our localhost ( server1 )

1.2: Change directory name with scp from remote to local server

To copy directory and contents from remote to local server with different directory name then you must use forward slash carefully
We must also provide a local directory in the source path on ( server1 ) under which you want to copy files and folders from remote server ( server2 )

Syntax for scp:

We will use this syntax in our next scp example:

Next verify the content on localhost server1 under /tmp/rahul . So the content of directory deepak from server2 is successfully copied under rahul on localhost

2. Copy folder and files using rsync from remote to local server

We can also use rsync to copy directories and contents from remote to local server using the same arguments but different syntax

To copy files and folders from remote to local, you must execute rsync on localhost i.e. server1 for our environment

2.1: Keep «same» directory name with rsync from remote to local server

Notice the rsync syntax carefully, we have not used forward slash (/) in the source path, so the entire directory and contents will be copied

Similarly you can use below rsync command to copy directory from remote to local server

Syntax for rsync:

Using below command you can folder from remote to local server

Verify the content of /tmp/deepak on server1

2.2: Change directory name with rsync from remote to local server

Now to change the directory name or store the directory contents to a different folder from remote to local server ( server1 ) we must use forward slash in the source path from remote server ( server2 )

Check the rsync syntax, as you see I have defined a forward slash in the source path from ( server2 )

Syntax for rsync:

In this rsync example I will copy all directory files from /home/temp/deepak/ on ( server2 ) to /tmp/rahul on localhost ( server1 )

Validate the content on server1 under /tmp/rahul

So the transfer was successful, I hope I was able to explain the importance of forward slash while copying all files in directories for proper naming.

Lastly I hope the steps from the article to perform scp from local to remote server and scp from remote to local server with examples on Linux was helpful. So, let me know your suggestions and feedback using the comment section.

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4 thoughts on “Linux copy directory and contents from remote to local & vice versa”

Hello,
I think there is a mistake in the content you provided. I noticed that there is wrong command in copying folder from remote to local system using rsync command. You can go through that and let me know if I’m correct.

Thanks for highlighting, the syntax reference was incorrect. I have corrected it.

Thanks for the tutorial. But I think “/” is forward slash, NOT backslash.

I always get confuse with this 🙂
Thank you for highlighting this. I have corrected the article.

Источник

scp between two remote hosts from my (third) pc

I have two remote hosts.
host1-> 10.3.0.1
host2-> 10.3.0.2
Both run an ssh server.

The ssh server listens on port 22 in host1 and on port 6969 in host2. Now, using my local machine, I need to copy something from host1 to host2 without logging into either host1 or host2 via ssh. Something like,

How can I do this, please note that the two hosts use different ports for ssh.

6 Answers 6

In the past, the way in which scp worked, when called (naively) to copy files between remote systems, was very inconvenient: if you wrote, for instance

scp would first open an ssh session on remote1, and then it would run scp from there to remote2. For this to work, you would have to set up the authorization credentials for remote2 on remote1.

The modern way to do it, instead, («modern» because it was implemented only a few years ago, and perhaps not everybody has a -3 -capable scp ) requires two steps. The first necessary step is to use

/.ssh/config to set up all options for the connection to both remote1 and remote2, as follows:

This way it becomes possible to pass all necessary options to the command without ambiguities: for instance, if we had said on the CLI use port 2222 without the above configuration, it would have been unclear whether we were referring to remote1 or to remote2, and likewise for the file containing the cryptgraphic keys. This way the CLI remains tidy and simple.

Secondly, use the -3 option, as follows:

The -3 option instructs scp to route traffic through the PC on which the command is issued, even though it is a 3rd party to the transfer. This way, authorization credentials must reside only on the issuing PC, the third party.

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How to transfer a file between two remote servers using scp from a third, local machine?

I’m trying to copy a file from one remote server to another remote server from my local machine. Here’s what I’m trying to do

The problem is that I need to pass two passwords for both userB and userC on the remote machines.

According to Garron the above should work, but I got permission denied.

6 Answers 6

If you can ssh to both remote servers from your local (local -> remote1 & local -> remote2), then you could try:

This will transfer straight from remote1 to remote2 using your local credentials all the way.

If you do not want to be asked for passwords, then you should set up the authorized_keys file on remotes.

/.ssh/config on remote1)

This questions already exists on Superuser:

As described there -3 option instructs scp to route traffic through the PC on which the command is issued.

The above is true if remote1 and remote2 are on the same network.

In case not:- You have to use port forwarding

This is possible using the following command line in linux terminal :

scp -3 user1@ip:path/from/directory/ user2@ip:path/to/directory

a prompt will appear asking for passwords like this:

user1@ip’s password: user2@ip’s password:

If you give both passwords in order by pressing enter after the first password, it should accept but it wont. Even if you give both passwords again in order but by not pressing enter after the first password, it wont accept again.

You have to give user2’s first, then press enter and then type user1’s password and press enter. This will work.

I know it doesn’t sounds right, but only this will work. This is a bug in scp.

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