From Design Geek to Web Geek- Part 01- File Transfer to and From Unix using SCP

From Design Geek to Web Geek: Part 01: File Transfer to and From Unix using SCP

Last updated: 8/21/2002; 5:44:49 AM

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From Design Geek to Web Geek: Part 01: File Transfer to and From Unix using SCP

To: Gretchen
From: Scott
Re: Moving Files From Windows to Unix and Unix to Windows using SCP

Disclaimer: This document is part of the "From Design Geek to Web Geek" series of articles that I am writing to train my consulting partner, Gretchen, in core web technologies. She would currently be described as a design geek that gets more and more technical as our business grows. More… Even though it's an internal training document, there is enough reusable content here to make it generally applicable hence the decision to blog these as I write them.

Background

Transferring files between computers is what I would call an "atomic" action. I.e. it is so fundamental that you simply have to be able to do it in order to really us a computer. Back in the day we used to copy files to and from floppies. Then it was over a local area network. And now it generally is move to Unix from Windows or move from Unix to Windows (and I know that OS X coverage is needed here but our iBook isn't in front of me now so that will be done in a revision).

What is SCP?

SCP stands for "secure copy" (the "cp" is the Unix copy command). SCP, unlike FTP, is "secure" which means that passwords aren't sent over the Internet, unencrypted. Even though passwords are rarely sniffed, security is DAMN important hence the advent of SCP. SCP functions similarly to a DOS copy command although the syntax is different. The nice thing about SCP is that it lets you move large groups of files to and from systems with just a few keystrokes.

Where Do I Get SCP for Windows?

The SCP version that we use is PSCP which is part of the PUTTY SSH (secure shell) package. PSCP is free and can be downloaded from this url:

http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html

Download the pscp.exe file and make sure that you save it into the winnt directory (or where ever Windows is installed). By saving it to this directory then the pscp program will always be available to you since the main Windows directory is always in your path statement.

How Do I Install SCP for Windows?

No need. You did it above.

How Do I Copy Files from Windows to Unix?

The simplest way to use pscp to copy files to a Unix host is like this:

pscp FILENAME USERNAME@DOMAIN.EXT:/DIRECTORY

Notes:

PSCP is used from a DOS command line which you get under Windows 2000 by typing "CMD" into the Run command from the Start Menu. It's also available as an Icon but I have no idea where it's located.
The first time you use PSCP on a given computer for a given domain, it will ask you if the encryption key is valid. The general answer is yes.
After you press ENTER when using PSCP you will be asked for your password. Type it in and press ENTER to begin transfering files.
In the examples below the website blogsafe.com is implemented as a normal Unix user with a /home/blogsafe.com/ user directory and a standard htdocs directory below that
I recommend that you create a C:UPLOAD directory on your windows box and then put any files to move up to Unix in that directory. This centralizes the file move process in 1 place. I'd also make a C:UPLOADDONE directory where you can periodically move files that you've uploaded but not yet tested.

Examples:

To copy the file c:index.php to a Unix host named "blogsafe.com" with the "gcahaly" account and place it in the /htdocs/test directory you would use:

pscp c:index.php gcahaly@blogsafe.com:/home/blogsafe.com/htdocs/test

To copy the file index.php in the current directory to a unix host named "blogsafe.com" with the "gcahaly" account and place it in the /htdocs/test directory you would use:

pscp index.php gcahaly@blogsafe.com:/home/blogsafe.com/htdocs/test

To copy the file index.php in the current directory, AND preserve the file date and time, you need to use the -p (preserve) option, to a unix host named "blogsafe.com" with the "gcahaly" account and place it in the /htdocs/test directory you would use:

pscp -p index.php gcahaly@blogsafe.com:/home/blogsafe.com/htdocs/test

To copy all .JPG files in the current directory in the current directory, AND preserve the file date and time, you need to use the -p (preserve) option, to a unix host named "blogsafe.com" with the "gcahaly" account and place it in the /htdocs/test directory you would use:

pscp -p *.jpg gcahaly@blogsafe.com:/home/blogsafe.com/htdocs/test

To copy all files in the in the current directory and all subdirectories, AND preserve the file date and time, you need to use the -P (preserve) and -R (recurse) options, to a unix host named "blogsafe.com" with the "gcahaly" account and place it in the /htdocs/test directory you would use:

pscp . -p -r gcahaly@blogsafe.com:/home/blogsafe.com/htdocs/test

How do I Copy Files from Unix to Windows?

The simplest way to use pscp to copy files from Unix to Windows is like this:

pscp USERNAME@DOMAIN.EXT:/DIRECTORY/FILENAME .

Notes:

The . indicates to copy the file into the current directory
Set your current directory to the directory where you want the files copied to
See notes from the section above – they still apply

Examples:

To copy the file index.php in the directory /home/htdocs/test from a Unix host named "blogsafe.com" with the "gcahaly" account and place it in the c:download directory you would use:

pscp gcahaly@blogsafe.com:/home/blogsafe.com/htdocs/test/index.php c:download

To copy the file index.php in the current directory to a unix host named "blogsafe.com" with the "gcahaly" account and place it in the /htdocs/test directory you would use:

pscp index.php gcahaly@blogsafe.com:/home/blogsafe.com/htdocs/test

To copy the file index.php in the current directory, AND preserve the file date and time, you need to use the -p (preserve) option, to a unix host named "blogsafe.com" with the "gcahaly" account and place it in the /htdocs/test directory you would use:

pscp -p index.php gcahaly@blogsafe.com:/home/blogsafe.com/htdocs/test

To copy all .JPG files in the current directory in the current directory, AND preserve the file date and time, you need to use the -p (preserve) option, to a unix host named "blogsafe.com" with the "gcahaly" account and place it in the /htdocs/test directory you would use:

pscp -p *.jpg gcahaly@blogsafe.com:/home/blogsafe.com/htdocs/test

To copy all files in the in the current directory and all subdirectories, AND preserve the file date and time, you need to use the -P (preserve) and -R (recurse) options, to a unix host named "blogsafe.com" with the "gcahaly" account and place it in the /htdocs/test directory you would use:

pscp . -p -r gcahaly@blogsafe.com:/home/blogsafe.com/htdocs/test

C:uploadinboxbuddyinboxbuddy>pscp -p -r -unsafe sjohnson@Blogsafe.com:/home/inboxbuddy.com/htdocs/docs/* .

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