Example uses of the Linux Command ftp

The following examples illustrate typical uses of the command ftp for remotely copying, renaming, and deleting files.

 ftp abc.xyz.edu

This command will attempt to connect to the ftp server at abc.xyz.edu. If it succeeds, it will ask you to log in using a username and password. Public ftp servers often allow you to log in using the username "anonymous" and your email address as password. Once you are logged in you can get a list of the available ftp commands using the help function:

 ftp> help

This lists the commands that you can use to show the directory contents, transfer files, and delete files.

 ftp> ls

This command prints the names of the files and subdirectories in the current directory on the remote computer.

 ftp> cd customers

This command changes the current directory to the subdirecotry "customers", if it exists.

 ftp> cd ..

Changes the current directory to the parent direcotry.

 ftp> lcd images

Changes the current directory [em]on the local computer[/em] to "images", if it exists.

 ftp> ascii

Changes to "ascii" mode for transferring text files.

 ftp> binary

Changes to "binary" mode for transferring all files that are not text files.

 ftp> get image1.jpg

Downloads the file image1.jpg from the remote computer to the local computer. Warning: If there already is file with the same name it will be overwritten.

 ftp> put image2.jpg

Uploads the file image2.jpg from the local computer to the remote computer. Warning: If there already is file with the same name it will be overwritten.

 ftp> !ls

A '!' in front will execute the specified command on the local computer. So '!ls' lists the file names and directory names of the current directory on the local computer.

 ftp> mget *.jpg

With mget you can download multiple images. This command downloads all files that end with ".jgp".

 ftp> mput *.jpg

Uploads all files that end with ".jgp".

 ftp> mdelete *.jpg

Deletes all files that end with ".jgp".

 ftp> prompt

Turns iteractive mode on or off so that commands on multiple files are executed without user confirmation.

 ftp> quit

Exits the ftp program.



Complete syntax of the command: ftp