Exchanging files with a Linux VM

We recommend the SCP and SFTP protocols for exchanging files with a Linux VM.

Both protocols tunnel TCP connections via SSH when transferring files, which ensures the same security and authentication level as that of SSH.

Files are transferred using the same key pair as the one used for connecting to a Linux VM over SSH.

Exchanging files via SCPExchanging files via SCP

To transfer a file named file1 from a local directory to a folder on the VM, run this command:

scp file1 <username>@<VM_IP_address>:<absolute_path_to_VM_folder>

To copy the file under a different name, specify a new file name in the destination address. For example, to save file1 to a remote folder as file1.txt, run this command:

scp file1 <username>@<VM_IP_address>:<absolute_path_to_VM_folder>/file1.txt

To copy the entire directory contents, place the -r key before the directory name:

scp -r <local_directory> <username>@<VM_IP_address>:<absolute_path_to_VM_folder>

To change the file exchange direction, specify the remote address before the local one. For example, to download a file named file2.txt to your local computer, run this command:

scp <username>@server_ip:<absolute_path_to_VM_folder>/file2.txt <local_directory>

Exchanging files via SFTPExchanging files via SFTP

To use SFTP tools, establish a connection to a remote VM: To do this, run the following command:

sftp <username>@<VM_IP_address>

This command will switch the terminal to interactive mode on the remote server. Go to the destination folder on the remote VM by running this command:

cd <absolute_path_to_VM_folder>

To upload a file from your local computer to the selected folder on the remote VM, run this command:

put <path_to_file_on_local_computer>

To download a file from a remote VM, run the command below:

get <path_to_file_on_VM>

To copy the entire directory, use the -r key in the put and get commands. For example, to copy all files from a local directory to a remote VM, run this command:

put -r <path_to_directory_on_local_computer>

Exchanging files using client applicationsExchanging files using client applications

You can use the following client applications to exchange files:

• WinSCP with SCP and SFTP support
• Filezilla with SFTP support