sftp : Secure Copy Of File From One Server To Another Server

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) was widely used protocol to transfer files or data remotely in unencrypted format which is not secure way to communicate , because all transmissions happens in clear text and the data can be readable by anyone during sniffing the packets on the network.

SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) runs over SSH protocol (using port 22 for secure connection).
WINSCP also uses SFTP in background.

1.Connect to a remote server for sFTP

By default SSH protocol is used to authenticate and establish a SFTP connection. To start an SFTP session, enter the username and remote hostname or IP address at the command prompt. Once authentication successful, you will see a shell with an sftp> prompt.

[root@localserver ~]# sftp ajay@192.168.1.11 or  sftp ajay@remoteserver

Connecting to 192.168.1.11...
ajay@192.168.1.11's password:
sftp>


2. Commands of sFTP (help)

At sftp shell prompt, type "?" or "help" to get list of all commands

sftp will give you local and remote version of each command. Usually, all local commands are prefixed by an "l".

sftp> ?
Available commands:
cd path                                 Change remote directory to 'path'
lcd path                                Change local directory to 'path'
chgrp grp path                      Change group of file 'path' to 'grp'
chmod mode path                 Change permissions of file 'path' to 'mode'
chown own path                   Change owner of file 'path' to 'own'
help                                      Display this help text
get remote-path [local-path]  Download file
lls [ls-options [path]]             Display local directory listing
ln oldpath newpath               Symlink remote file
lmkdir path                          Create local directory
lpwd                                    Print local working directory
ls [path]                               Display remote directory listing
lumask umask                      Set local umask to 'umask'
mkdir path                           Create remote directory
put local-path [remote-path]  Upload file
pwd                                    Display remote working directory
exit                                     Quit sftp
quit                                     Quit sftp
rename oldpath newpath      Rename remote file
rmdir path                           Remove remote directory
rm path                               Delete remote file
symlink oldpath newpath      Symlink remote file
version                                Show SFTP version
!command                          Execute 'command' in local shell
!                                         Escape to local shell
?                                         Synonym for help

3. Command Examples :-

sftp> lpwd
Local working directory: /
sftp> pwd
Remote working directory: /ajay/

On Remote
sftp> ls
On Local
sftp> lls

sftp> put xyz (uploading file on remote server from local server)
Uploading xyz to /ajay/xyz

sftp> get abc (fetching file from remote server to local server)
Fetching /ajay/abc to abc


sftp> mkdir www (making dir on remote server)
sftp> lmkdir hhh (making dir on local server)

On Remote
sftp> cd www (change dir to remote)
sftp>
On Local (change dir to local)
sftp> lcd hhh

sftp> rm abc (remove file from remote)
sftp> rmdir www (remove dir from remote)

That`s it , we are done with basic sFTP operations

Cheers !!
AJ