Copy Files Using SCP
2025-08-21
SCP (Secure Copy Protocol) is a secure file transfer command based on SSH used to encryptively transmit files between a local host and a remote host (or between two remote hosts).
Common Scenarios
- Transfer files between a local host and a remote host (Local → Remote)
scp /local/file.txt username@remote_IP:/target path/ Example:
scp ~/test.zip pi@192.168.2.xxx:/home/pi/ # Copy to the remote host's home directory. - Transfer files between two remote hosts (Remote → Remote)
scp user1@host1:/path/to/file user2@host2:/path/to/dest/ Example:
scp alice@server1:/data/report.txt bob@server2:/backups/ - Transfer files from a remote host to a local host (Remote → Local)
scp username@remote_IP:/remote/file.txt /local/path/ Example:
scp root@192.168.2.xxx:/var/log/app.log ./downloads/ # Download a remote file to a local host. Recursively Copying Directories
Copy an entire folder (including subfiles and subdirectories):
scp -r /local/directory/ user@host:/target path/ Example:
scp -r ~/my_project/ root@192.168.2.xxx:/home/pi/