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ftp(1) ftp(1)
NAME
ftp - Transfers files between a local and a remote host
SYNOPSIS
ftp [-dgintv] [host]
The ftp command is the interface to the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). This
command uses FTP to transfer files between the local host and a remote host
or between two remote hosts.
FLAGS
The following flags can be entered on the shell command line. (The the ftp
command equivalents can also be entered at the ftp> prompt.)
-d Enables debugging by turning on the logging feature. See the debug
subcommand.
-g Disables the expansion of metacharacters in filenames. Interpreting
metacharacters may be referred to as expanding (sometimes called glob-
bing) a filename. See the glob subcommand.
-i Disables interactive prompting during multiple file transfers. See the
prompt, mget, mput, and mdelete subcommands for descriptions of prompt-
ing during multiple file transfers.
-n Prevents an automatic login on the initial connection. Otherwise, ftp
searches for a $HOME/.netrc entry that describes the login and initial-
ization process for the remote host. See the user subcommand.
-t Toggles packet tracing (see trace subcommand).
-v Displays all the responses from the remote server and provides data
transfer statistics. This is the default display mode when the output
of the ftp command is to a device, such as the console or a display.
However, if output is redirected, such as through a pipe or to a file,
or if the ftp command is started by a daemon, such as the cron daemon,
verbose mode is not in effect unless the -v flag or the verbose subcom-
mand is used. See the verbose subcommand.
DESCRIPTION
The FTP protocol is designed to allow transferring data between hosts that
use dissimilar file systems. Therefore, although the protocol provides a
lot of flexibility for transferring data, it does not attempt to preserve
file attributes that are specific to a particular file system (for example,
the protection mode or modification times of a file). Additionally, the
FTP protocol makes few assumptions about the overall structure of a file
system and does not provide or allow such things as recursively copying
subdirectories.
Note that if you are transferring files between OSF/1 systems (or other
systems compatible with the UNIX operating system) and need to preserve
file attributes or need to recursively copy subdirectories, you can use the
rcp command.
The ftp command provides subcommands for tasks such as listing remote
directories, changing the current local and remote directory, transferring
multiple files in a single request, creating and removing directories, and
escaping to the local shell to perform shell commands. The ftp command
also provides for security by sending passwords to the remote host and per-
mits automatic login, file transfer, and logoff.
If you execute ftp and do not specify a hostname, ftp immediately displays
the ftp> prompt and waits for an ftp subcommand. To connect to a remote
host, you then execute the open subcommand. When the ftp command connects
to the remote host, ftp then prompts for the username and password before
displaying the ftp> prompt again. ftp fails if no password is defined at
the remote host for the specified username.
If you do specify the name of a remote host, ftp immediately tries to
establish a connection to the specified host. If ftp connects success-
fully, ftp searches for a local $HOME/.netrc file in your current directory
or home directory. If the file exists, ftp searches the file for an entry
that initiates the login process and command macro definitions for the
remote host. If the $HOME/.netrc file or autologin entry does not exist,
ftp prompts you for a username and password. This occurs whether or not
the hostname is entered on the command line.
If ftp finds a $HOME/.netrc autologin entry for the specified host, ftp
attempts to use the information in that entry to automatically log in to
the remote host. The ftp command also loads any command macros defined in
the entry. In some cases (for example, when the required password is not
listed in an autologin entry), ftp prompts for the password before display-
ing the ftp> prompt. Once ftp completes the autologin process, ftp exe-
cutes the init macro if the macro is defined in the autologin entry. If
the init macro does not exist or does not contain a quit or bye command,
ftp then displays the ftp> prompt and waits for a subcommand.
The remote username that you specify either at the prompt or in a
$HOME/.netrc file must exist and have a password defined at the remote host
or ftp fails. In addition, the remote user's shell must be listed in the
/etc/shells file.
Users are authenticated as described in ftpd(8).
The ftp command interpreter, which handles all commands entered at the ftp>
prompt, provides facilities that are not available with most file transfer
programs, such as: the handling of filename arguments to ftp commands, the
ability to collect a group of commands into a single command macro, and the
ability to load macros from a $HOME/.netrc file. These facilities are
designed to allow simplifying repeated tasks and to allow using ftp in
unattended mode.
The command interpreter handles filename arguments according to the follow-
ing rules:
++ If a - (dash) is specified for the argument, standard input is used
for read operations and standard output is used for write operations.
++ If the first character of the filename is | (vertical bar), the
remainder of the argument is interpreted as a shell command. ftp then
forks a shell, using popen() with the argument supplied, and reads
(writes) from stdout (stdin).
If the shell command includes spaces, the argument must be quoted; for
example, | ls -lt. A particularly useful example of this mechanism is
dir |more.
++ Failing the above checks, if globbing is enabled, local filenames are
expanded according to the rules used in csh; c.f., the glob command.
If the ftp command expects a single local file (for example, put),
only the first filename generated by the globbing operation is used.
++ For get and mget subcommands with unspecified local filenames, the
local filename is the same as the remote filename, which may be
altered by a case, ntrans, or nmap setting. The resulting filename
can then be altered if runique is on.
++ For mput commands and put commands with unspecified remote filenames,
the remote filename is the same as the local filename, which can be
altered by a ntrans or nmap setting. The resulting filename can then
be altered by the remote server if sunique is on.
Note that the ftp command interpreter does not support pipes.
To end an ftp session when you are running interactively, use the bye or
quit subcommand or the End-of-File key sequence at the ftp> prompt. To end
a file transfer before it has been completed, use the Interrupt key
sequence. The default Interrupt key sequence is