How to Copy Files/Folders from one server to another remote server in Linux

We can use scp command to copy files and folders from one server to another server. Below is the syntax for scp command.

scp [-1246BCpqrv] [-c cipher] [-F ssh_config] [-i identity_file] [-l limit] [-o ssh_option] [-P port] [-S program] [[user@]host1:]file1 ...[[user@]host2:]file2

scp stands for secure cp (copy), which means you can copy files across ssh connection, it uses the port 22 by default.

• Copy File from Server 1 to Server 2, assuming you already logged in to server 1.

scp /path/of/file username@serverhost:/path/to/destination

example: scp /tmp/sample.txt user1@122.1.1.197:/tmp/sampledirectory/

• Copy folders from Server 1 to Server 2, assuming you already logged in to server 1.

scp -r /path/of/source-folder user@server:/path/to/destination-folder/
example: scp -r /tmp/somedirectory user1@122.1.1.197:/tmp/sampledirectory/

Note: -r Recursively copy entire directories.

• Copy specific files under a folder from Server 1 to Server 2, assuming you already logged in to server 1.

scp /path/of/source-folder/*.txt user@server:/path/to/destination-folder/

example: scp /tmp/sample/*.txt user1@127.1.1.197:/home/sample/