Copying Files

 Using Rsync

Using rsync you can copy files from and to any machine you have ssh access to. The basic command looks very similar to cp:

rsync -P src dst

However, usually one of these two arguments contains a : to specify a remote location. For example:

rsync -P example.com:~/Downloads/test.pdf .

Copies from a location on example.com to the current directory The other way around is also allowed:

rsync -P test.pdf example.com:~/Downloads

Just like with ssh, the part that specifies the remote location can be altered in various ways:

# to a specific user
rsync -P test.pdf quinn@example.com:~/Downloads

# With a specific port
rsync -P test.pdf quinn@example.com:~/Downloads --port 1234

# `myserver` will be looked up in ~/.ssh/config
# assuming there is an appropriate entry there
rsync -{} test.pdf myserver:~/Downloads --port 1234

 Copying directories

To copy a directory with rsync you need to explicitly pass the -r

 Using scp

Using scp is pretty much exactly like using rsync. Most command line flags work the same. However, scp is outdated, and much less nice to use. For example -P in rsync gives progress indicators and resumption of large file copies, something scp cannot do.

We always recommend using rsync over scp when possible. However, both the client and the server need to have rsync installed, which could be an issue.

If you need to, you can use scp like rsync, without the -P flag

scp source destination

Just like with rsync, pass -r to copy directories.