What are some common FTP commands?
Some FTP commands are the same on different computers,
but others are not. You can usually get a list of commands if you
enter help or ? (question mark) at the
ftp> prompt. Some computers, such as Unix
systems, may offer online information about FTP. At your computer's
operating system prompt, try entering one of the following:
man ftp
man ftpd
help ftp
Note: FTP clients that have a graphical user interface (GUI), such as Transmit, Rapid Filer, and WS-FTP, usually do not require you to know and use these commands regularly. You may have a few occasions to use them if the program also has a command line interface.
Some useful FTP commands available on most systems include:
ascii |
Switch to ASCII mode. ASCII mode is the default mode; use it for transferring text files. |
binary |
Switch to binary mode. Use to transfer binary files, including
files ending in .zip, .tar, .Z,
and .gz, executable programs, and graphics files.
|
bye (or quit) |
Close the connection to the remote computer and exit FTP. |
cd |
Change the directory on the remote computer. |
close |
Close the connection to the remote computer. |
del |
Delete files from the remote computer. |
dir (or ls) |
List the files in the current directory on the remote computer. |
get |
Copy a file from the remote computer to the local computer. |
hash |
Displays a # on the screen for every block of bytes
transferred. A block is 1024 bytes in some cases, 2048 in others,
but is between 1024 and 4096 in most cases. Check FTP's online help
for the number represented in the FTP program you are using.
|
help (or ?) |
Lists or provides help on the use of FTP commands. |
lcd |
Change the directory on the local computer. |
lpwd |
Show the current directory (present working directory) on the
local computer. This command is not available in all FTP
versions. On Unix systems, try !pwd if lpwd doesn't
work.
|
mdel |
Delete multiple files on the remote computer. |
mget |
Copy multiple files from the remote computer to the local computer. |
mkdir |
Create a directory on the remote host. |
mput |
Copy multiple files from the local computer to the remote computer. |
open |
Open a connection to a remote computer. |
prompt |
Turn on (or turn off) file transfer
prompting. Often used to turn off prompting when using mdel,
mput, or mget so that you are not required to
confirm the transfer of each file before it is transferred.
|
put |
Copy a file from the local computer to the remote computer. |
pwd |
Show the current directory (present working directory) on the remote computer. |
rmdir |
Remove a directory on the remote host (the directory usually has to be empty). |
user
|
Log into the remote computer to which you are currently connected. FTP will ask for a login name and possibly a password. |
! |
In Unix, exit to the shell prompt, where you can enter commands.
Enter exit to get back to FTP. If you follow ! with
a command (e.g., !pwd), FTP will execute the command without
dropping you to the Unix prompt.
|
This is document aenq in domain all.
Last modified on February 12, 2008.
Last modified on February 12, 2008.
