SCP stands for Secure Copy Protocol, and it is a network protocol used for securely transferring files between a local host and a remote host or between two remote hosts. SCP is a built-in command-line tool in many operating systems, including Unix-like systems and Windows.
SCP uses Secure Shell (SSH) for authentication and encryption, ensuring that the file transfers are secure. It provides a secure and efficient way to copy files or directories from one location to another over a network.
To use SCP, you typically use the scp command followed by the source file or directory and the destination. SCP supports both remote-to-local and local-to-remote file transfers. It uses the SSH protocol to establish a secure connection and authenticate the users involved.
Here are a few examples of using SCP:
- Copy a file from a local system to a remote system:
scp localfile.txt username@remotehost:/remote/directory/2. Copy a file from a remote system to a local system:
scp username@remotehost:/remote/directory/remotefile.txt localdirectory/3. Copy a directory and its contents from a local system to a remote system:
scp -r localdirectory/ username@remotehost:/remote/directory/SCP provides a secure alternative to traditional file transfer methods like FTP (File Transfer Protocol) by using encryption and authentication mechanisms provided by SSH.
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