FTP Server and its Commands

What is FTP?

The FTP (File Transfer Protocol) utility program is commonly used for copying files to and from other computers. These computers may be at the same site or at different sites thousands of miles apart. FTP is a general protocol that works on UNIX systems as well as a variety of other (non-UNIX) systems.

For the purposes of this Web page, the local machine refers to the machine you are initially logged into, the one on which you type the ftp command. The remote machine is the other one, the one that is the argument of the ftp command.

A user interface for the standard File Transfer Protocol for ARPANET, FTP acts as an interpreter on the remote machine. The user may type a number of UNIX-like commands under this interpreter to perform desired actions on the remote machine.

Most operating systems and communication programs now include some form of an FTP utility program, but the commands differ slightly between them. The following explanations and alphabetical list of commands refers to the common FTP utility program as provided on a UNIX machine. Check the documentation for your own machine to determine the comparable commands.

Most computers today include a windows-based type FTP program that is more PC-oriented and does not require full knowledge of these commands.

You can also perform FTP through a browser. For example, bring up Internet Explorer and type in             ftp://yourLoginName@IPaddress
instead of a normal web page URL.

Common FTP Commands

?	to request help or information about the FTP commands
ascii	to set the mode of file transfer to ASCII (this is the default and transmits seven bits per character)
binary	to set the mode of file transfer to binary (the binary mode transmits all eight bits per byte and thus provides less chance of a transmission error and must be used to transmit files other than ASCII files)
bye	to exit the FTP environment (same as quit)
cd	to change directory on the remote machine
close	to terminate a connection with another computer
	close brubeck	closes the current FTP connection with brubeck,   but still leaves you within the FTP environment.
delete	to delete (remove) a file in the current remote directory (same as rm in UNIX)
get	to copy one file from the remote machine to the local machine
	get ABC DEF	copies file ABC in the current remote directory to (or on top of) a file named DEF in your current local directory.
	get ABC	copies file ABC in the current remote directory to (or on top of) a file with the same name, ABC, in your current local directory.
help	to request a list of all available FTP commands
lcd	to change directory on your local machine (same as UNIX cd)
ls	to list the names of the files in the current remote directory
mkdir	to make a new directory within the current remote directory
mget	to copy multiple files from the remote machine to the local machine;   you are prompted for a y/n answer before transferring each file
	mget *	copies all the files in the current remote directory to your current local directory, using the same filenames. Notice the use of the wild card character, *.
mput	to copy multiple files from the local machine to the remote machine;   you are prompted for a y/n answer before transferring each file
open	to open a connection with another computer
	open brubeck	opens a new FTP connection with brubeck;   you must enter a username and password for a brubeck account       (unless it is to be an anonymous connection).
put	to copy one file from the local machine to the remote machine
pwd	to find out the pathname of the current directory on the remote machine
quit	to exit the FTP environment (same as bye)
rmdir	to to remove (delete) a directory in the current remote directory