How to use the scp command in Linux

When you want to transfer a file from one Linux computer to another, you have several options: Some of these options are GUI tools, and some are not. One of the most popular methods of transferring files also happens to be one of the more secure. That method is by way of the scp command.

Scp stands for Secure Copy and is part of the SSH tool, which nearly every Linux distribution includes out of the box. That means you don't have to install any extra software to get this done.

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At first glance, using scp might seem a bit confusing, but it's really not. I'm going to show you how it's done, so you can push and pull files from one Linux machine to another. 

What you'll need: To do this, all you'll need are two Linux machines. It doesn't matter what distribution you're using, but you will need user accounts on both machines. (They don't have to be the same user accounts, but you have to know the passwords for each account.) This will become more clear in a moment.

Using the scp command

scp /path/to/zdnet_test 192.168.1.30:/home/USER

Where /path/to is the full path to the zdnet_test file and USER is the username on the remote machine.

You will be prompted for the user's password and, upon successful authentication, the file will be copied.

scp /path/to/zdnet_test [email protected]:/home/USER

Where /path/to is the full path to the zdnet_test file and USER is the username on the remote machine.

Again, you'll be prompted for the user password before the file is copied.

scp /path/to/zdnet_test [email protected]:/data

Where /path/to is the full path to the zdnet_test file and USER is the username on the remote machine.

Once again, you'll be prompted for the user password before the file is copied.

scp 192.168.1.30:/path/to/zdnet_test /home/USER/zdnet_test

Where /path/to is the full path to the zdnet_test file and USER is the username on the remote machine.

And, yes, again you'll be prompted for the user password before the file is copied.

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Like with pushing a file, you can also define the remote user and change the path to where the file will be saved.

And that, my dear friends, is all there is to use the scp command on Linux. Enjoy this handy ability to push and pull files from one Linux machine to another, with the help of secure copy.