sftp

Overview

sftp is the interactive SSH file-transfer client (SFTP subsystem). Prefer it over legacy ftp/telnet for remote file work; for scripted bulk sync, prefer rsync or scp/sftp batch modes. Uses the same auth and config as ssh.

Syntax

sftp [options] [user@]host
sftp [options] -b batchfile [user@]host

Common Options

Option	Description
-i key	Private key
-P port	Port (note capital P, unlike ssh’s -p)
-o Opt=Val	ssh options (ProxyJump, …)
-b file	Batch commands from file
-a	Attempt to continue interrupted downloads (where supported)
-r	Recursive for get/put in modern OpenSSH

Examples with Explanations

Interactive session

sftp alice@server.example.com
# sftp> ls
# sftp> get remote.txt
# sftp> put local.txt /var/tmp/
# sftp> bye

Batch download

cat > /tmp/sftp.batch <<'EOF'
cd /var/backups
lcd /tmp
get -r weekly/
bye
EOF
sftp -b /tmp/sftp.batch alice@server

Jump host

sftp -o ProxyJump=bastion.example.com alice@internal

Non-interactive one-shot via ssh

ssh alice@server 'cat /etc/os-release' > os-release.txt
rsync -av alice@server:/var/www/ ./www-mirror/

Often clearer than SFTP batch for automation.

Notes & Pitfalls

• Port flag is -P for sftp/scp historical reasons.
  
• Recursive behavior and resume support vary by OpenSSH version.
  
• File modes/ownership on put depend on remote umask and SSH config.

Related Commands

• scp — simple remote copy
  
• rsync — efficient sync
  
• ssh — remote shell
  
• rclone — multi-cloud sync if installed

Additional Resources

• man sftp
  
• man sftp-server