SFTP: How to List Files

The Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) is a network protocol that provides file access, file transfer, and file management over any reliable data stream. One of the simplest but most essential operations while working with SFTP is listing files. This article will guide you on how to list files using SFTP.

Establishing an SFTP Connection

Before you can list files, you first need to establish an SFTP connection. You can do this using the sftp command followed by the username and host, like so:

sftp username@host

Replace "username" with your actual username and "host" with the actual host name or IP address. You will then be prompted to enter your password. After you've successfully logged in, you will be in the SFTP environment.

Listing Files

Once in the SFTP environment, you can list files using the ls command. This is similar to how you would do it in a regular Unix or Linux shell. The ls command displays the files and directories in the current directory on the remote system.

sftp> ls

This will display all the files and directories in your current directory. If you want to list files in a specific directory, you can do so by specifying the directory's path after the ls command. For example, to list files in a directory named "example_dir", you can use the following command:

sftp> ls example_dir

Advanced File Listing

The ls command also accepts options that can provide more detailed information. The -l option, for instance, provides a long listing format that displays additional details about each file and directory.

sftp> ls -l

This command will display each file's permissions, number of links, owner, group, size, and time of last modification. Another useful option is -a , which shows all files, including hidden ones. Hidden files are files whose names begin with a dot (.).

sftp> ls -la

This command will list all files, including hidden ones, in a long listing format.

Conclusion

The ability to list files is one of the fundamental skills you need when working with SFTP. It allows you to navigate through your directories and find the files you're interested in. The ls command, along with its options, provides a powerful tool for listing files in various ways, making your file management tasks easier and more efficient.