Last changed: 10 March 1999

ftp help file

FTP is the File Transfer program used to transfer files between two computers.
The local computer is the computer on which you start FTP (_e.g._ nyx.nyx.net). The remote computer is the computer to which you connect (hostname in the
command ``ftp hostname'' or ``open hostname''). Since most of the FTP commands
relate to either the local or remote computer, this distinction is important.

To start FTP, type

  ftp hostname<RETURN>

where hostname is a logical name (_e.g._, nyx.nyx.net) or numeric address
(206.124.29.1). When the connection is made, prompts for username and password
will appear before logging in. The 

  ftp>

prompt will appear at this point. For anonymous ftp sites (_e.g._ ftp.uu.net),
the username is usually ``anonymous'' or ``ftp'' and the password is your
e-mail address (_e.g._ postmaster@nyx.net)

If the connection fails because of an error in specifying hostname, typing

  open hostname<RETURN>

will open a connection to hostname. This command also allows you to open a
connection if a connection is closed due to timing out.

If the login fails, typing

  user username<RETURN>

will start the login for username, prompting for a password.

Although <RETURN> is used to indicate the <RETURN> key, your keyboard may use
the <ENTER> key for the same purpose.

Changing directory:
-------------------
After successfully logging in, the current directory is usually the home
directory of the user. To change the current directory on the remote computer,
type

  cd directory-name<RETURN>

To change the current directory on the local computer, type

  lcd directory-name<RETURN>

Listing a directory:
--------------------
To get a listing of the current directory on the remote computer, type

  ls<RETURN>

Because the listing may be long (and versions of FTP do not support pipes),
it is useful to download the directory listing (often available at anonymous
ftp sites) or to save the directory listing to the file output-file, type

  ls output-file<RETURN>

or 

  ls . output-file<RETURN>

and the directory listing will be written to the file output-file on the local
computer.

To get a listing of the current directory on the local computer, type

  !ls<RETURN>

[Note: this is actually a specific example of the shell escape command.]

File type for transfer:
-----------------------
FTP supports ASCII (text) and binary file types. Use ASCII transfer mode _only_
when transferring text files (_e.g._ source code, unformatted documents); all
others should use binary transfer mode. When in doubt, use binary transfer
mode. Since many versions of FTP initially the file type to ASCII, type

  status<RETURN>

to make sure that you are using the proper mode.

To select ASCII (text) transfer mode, type

  ascii<RETURN>

To select binary transfer mode, type

  binary<RETURN>

Uploading/downloading a file:
-----------------------------
To download a file (transfer from remote computer to local computer), type

  get remote-file local-file<RETURN>

or simply

  get remote-file<RETURN>

if the filename of the local file is the same as the filename of the remote
file.

To upload a file (transfer from local computer to remote computer), type

  put local-file remote-file<RETURN>

or simply

  put local-file<RETURN>

if the filename of the remote file is the same as the filename of the local
file.

Opening/closing a connection:
---------------------
To open a FTP connection, type

  open hostname<RETURN>

To close a FTP connection, type

  close<RETURN>

Quitting:
---------
To quit FTP, type

  quit<RETURN>

Quoting filenames/directories:
------------------------------
Since FTP allows file transfers to/from machines not running Unix (_e.g._, VMS,
MacOS, Microsoft Windows), directory and file names may contain spaces and
other characters that are special to the Unix shells. In order to use them with
FTP commands, the names should be enclosed in quotes (' or "). For example, to
change to the directory ``My Folder'' (embedded space) on the remote machine,
type

  cd 'My Folder'<RETURN>

Getting help:
-------------
Typing 

  help<RETURN>

gives a list of the available FTP commands. Typing 

  help command<RETURN>

gives a short description of the command. As with all Unix commands, 

  man ftp<RETURN>

will display the man pages for FTP.

Summary of commands:
--------------------
ftp -- starts FTP program

cd -- change current directory on the remote computer
lcd -- change current directory on the local computer

ls -- gets a directory listing on the remote computer
!ls -- gets a directory listing on the local computer

ascii -- selects ASCII (text) transfer mode
binary -- selects binary transfer mode

get -- downloads/retrieves file from the remote computer to the local computer
put -- uploads/transfers file from the local computer to the remote computer

open -- opens a FTP connection to the remote computer
close -- closes a FTP connection to the remote computer

user -- logs in as a user on the remote computer

quit -- quits FTP program

help -- online help