How to Copy Files Between a Local and a Remote System (rcp)

1. Ensure that you have permission to copy.

   You should at least have read permission on the source system and write permission on the target system.

2. Determine the location of the source and target.

   If you don't know the path of the source or target, you can first log in to the remote system with the rlogin command, as described in How to Log In to a Remote System (rlogin). Then, navigate through the remote system until you find the location. You can then perform the next step without logging out.

3. Copy the file or directory.

   $ rcp [-r] source-file|directory target-file|directory

   rcp

   (No options) Copies a single file from the source to the target.

   -r

   Copies a directory from the source to the target.

   This syntax applies whether you are logged in to the remote system or in to the local system. Only the path name of the file or directory changes, as described in Table 29–4 and as illustrated in the following examples.

   You can use the “~” and “.” characters to specify the path portions of the local file or directory names. Note, however, that “~” applies to the current user, not the remote system, and that “.” applies to system you are logged in to. For explanations of these symbols, see Table 29–4.

Example 29–8 Using rcp to Copy a Remote File to a Local System

In this example, rcp is used to copy the file letter.doc from the /home/jones directory of the remote system pluto to the working directory (/home/smith) on the local system, earth:

earth(/home/smith): rcp pluto:/home/jones/letter.doc .

In this instance, the rcp operation is performed without a remote login. Here, the “.” symbol at the end of the command line refers to the local system, not the remote system.

The target directory is the also local user's home directory, so it can also be specified with the “~” symbol.

Example 29–9 Using rlogin and rcp to Copy a Remote File to a Local System

In this example, the rcp operation is run after the rlogin command is executed to copy a file from a remote to a local system. Although the flow of the operation is the same as that of the previous example, the paths change to allow for the remote login:

earth(/home/smith): rlogin pluto
.
.
.
pluto(/home/jones): rcp letter.doc ~

Using the “.” symbol at the end of the command line would be inappropriate in this instance. Because of the remote login, the symbol would simply refer to the remote system; essentially directing rcp to create a duplicate file. The “~” symbol, however, refers to the current user's home directory, even when the login is to a remote system.

Example 29–10 Using rcp to Copy a Local File to a Remote System

In this example, rcp is used to copy the file notice.doc from the home directory (/home/smith) of the local system earth to the /home/jones directory of the remote system, pluto:

earth(/home/smith): rcp notice.doc pluto:/home/jones

Because no remote file name is provided, the file notice.doc is copied into the /home/jones directory with the same name.

In this instance, the rcp operation from the previous example is repeated, but rcp is entered from a different working directory on the local system (/tmp). Note the use of the “~” symbol to refer to the current user's home directory:

earth(/tmp): rcp ~/notice.doc pluto:/home/jones

Example 29–11 Using rlogin and rcp to Copy a Local File to a Remote System

In this example, the rcp operation is run after the rlogin command is executed to copy a local file to a remote directory. Although the flow of the operation is the same as that of the previous example, the paths change to allow for the remote login.

earth(/home/smith): rlogin pluto
.
.
.
pluto(/home/jones): rcp ~/notice.doc .

In this instance, the “~” symbol can be used to denote the current user's home directory, even though it is on the local system. The “.” symbol refers to the working directory on the remote system because the user is logged in to the remote system. Here is an alternative syntax that performs the same operation:

pluto(/home/jones): rcp earth:/home/smith/notice.doc /home/jones