Interactive and scriptable SFTP client for secure file transfers over SSH
PSFTP is a secure file transfer client that implements the SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). It provides both interactive and batch-mode operation for transferring files securely over an SSH connection.
PSFTP is part of the PuTTY suite and offers a command-line interface similar to traditional FTP clients, but with the security of SSH encryption.
psftp username@hostnamepsftp -i private_key.ppk username@hostnamepsftp -batch -b commands.txt username@hostnamepsftp session_name| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| ls | List remote directory contents |
| lls | List local directory contents |
| cd directory | Change remote directory |
| lcd directory | Change local directory |
| get filename | Download file from remote |
| put filename | Upload file to remote |
| mget pattern | Download multiple files |
| mput pattern | Upload multiple files |
| mkdir directory | Create remote directory |
| rmdir directory | Remove remote directory |
| rm filename | Delete remote file |
| rename old new | Rename remote file |
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -P port | Specify port number |
| -l username | Specify username |
| -pw password | Specify password |
| -i keyfile | Specify private key file |
| -batch | Disable interactive prompts |
| -b batchfile | Read commands from file |
| -bc | Output batch commands |
| -be | Don't stop batch on errors |
Create a text file (e.g., commands.txt) with SFTP commands:
cd /var/www/html
lcd C:\localwebsite
mput *.html
mput *.css
mput *.js
quitpsftp -batch -b commands.txt -i mykey.ppk user@server@echo off
echo Creating backup directory...
echo mkdir /backup/%date:~10,4%-%date:~4,2%-%date:~7,2% > backup.txt
echo cd /backup/%date:~10,4%-%date:~4,2%-%date:~7,2% >> backup.txt
echo lcd C:\data >> backup.txt
echo mput * >> backup.txt
echo quit >> backup.txt
psftp -batch -b backup.txt -i backup.ppk user@backupserver
del backup.txtFor automated scripts, always use SSH key authentication instead of passwords for better security.
Use the -be option to continue batch operations even if some commands fail:
psftp -batch -be -b commands.txt user@serverFor large files, PSFTP automatically handles resume functionality. If a transfer is interrupted, simply restart the same command.
PSFTP supports wildcards in mget and mput commands for transferring multiple files matching a pattern.
PSFTP:
PSCP: