ftp

Overview

ftp is the classic interactive client for the File Transfer Protocol. On modern systems it is largely superseded by sftp/scp/rsync over SSH and HTTPS downloads (curl/wget). Prefer encrypted channels whenever possible — plain FTP sends credentials and data in cleartext.

Many distros ship ftp as ftp or tnftp / require installing ftp package; some only provide lftp or sftp.

Syntax

ftp [options] [host]
ftp ftp://user@host/path     # URL form on some clients

Common Options / commands

Client option flags vary. Once connected, interactive commands include:

Command	Description
open host	Connect
user	Authenticate
ls / dir	List remote
cd / lcd	Remote / local directory
get / mget	Download
put / mput	Upload
binary / ascii	Transfer mode
passive / passive on	Passive mode (usually required today)
bye / quit	Exit
hash	Progress hashes
prompt	Toggle mget/mput prompts

Examples with Explanations

Interactive session

ftp ftp.example.com
# Name: anonymous
# Password: user@email
binary
passive
ls
get README
bye

Prefer SFTP instead

sftp user@host
scp file user@host:/path/
rsync -avP file user@host:/path/

lftp (better modern client)

lftp ftp://user@host
lftp -e 'set ftp:passive-mode true; mirror -c remote local; bye' host

Scripted (discouraged for secrets)

ftp -n host <<'EOF'
user anonymous guest@
binary
get file.bin
bye
EOF

Credentials in scripts leak; use SSH keys or secret stores.

Firewall note

Active FTP fails behind NATs; passive mode is the norm. Still painful vs SSH.

Notes / Pitfalls

• Cleartext auth and data — avoid on untrusted networks.
• FTPS (FTP over TLS) is different from SFTP (SSH); know which you need.
• Corporate scanners still find open FTP servers — disable if unused.
• ASCII mode corrupts binaries — use binary.
• Many public mirrors moved to HTTPS only.

2026-relevant notes

• Treat FTP as legacy interoperability only.
• Default transfer should be sftp/rsync/curl https.
• If you must run a server, prefer SFTP chroots or HTTPS object storage.

Related Commands

• sftp / scp / rsync — SSH-based transfer
• lftp / ncftp — richer FTP clients
• curl / wget — URL downloads
• ssh — remote shell + tunnels

Additional Resources

• man ftp, man sftp