ftp allows you to connect to a remote node and execute ftp subcommands there without leaving your current session on the local host. The ftp command works between various platforms, not only between Unix systems. Simply invoke ftp by typing
ftp
to get the prompt
ftp>
Select the remote host by
ftp> open hostname
and you will be prompted for login information. If you invoke ftp by typing
ftp hostname
the open hostname is implicitly executed and you will
be prompted directly for login information.
Please consult the man page for the various flags that can be set on
the command line when invoking ftp.
After a successful login you will get the ftp> prompt again and you can now issue the ftp subcommands which allow you to navigate through the remote file system, display a remote directory and transfer files between the remote and the local host in both directions. Some frequently used ftp subcommands are:
quit ends the ftp commandYou can find more information on further ftp commands in the man pages.cd changes directory on remote host
ls list contents of remote directory (some "normal" ls switches allowed)
lcd changes directory on local host
mkdir creates a new directory on the remote host
pwd prints the path that is current on the remote host
put transfers a file from local to remote
get transfers a file from remote to local
mput send multiple files
mget get multiple files
binary transfers data without conversion (usually for binary files)
ascii converts data according to different character representation
on the sending and receiving host (text files)
help displays all available subcommands and gives a
short description of them.