Secure copy protocol

scp
Developer(s)The OpenSSH Project
Repositorygithub.com/openssh/openssh-portable/
Written inC
Operating systemCross-platform
TypeCommand, Communication protocol
Websitewww.openssh.com

Secure copy protocol (SCP) is a means of securely transferring computer files between a local host and a remote host or between two remote hosts. It is based on the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol.[1] "SCP" commonly refers to both the Secure Copy Protocol and the program itself.[2]

According to OpenSSH developers in April 2019, SCP is outdated, inflexible and not readily fixed; they recommend the use of more modern protocols like SFTP and rsync for file transfer.[3] As of OpenSSH version 9.0, scp client therefore uses SFTP for file transfers by default instead of the legacy SCP/RCP protocol.[4]

  1. ^ "Linux and Unix scp command". Computer Hope. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  2. ^ Pechanec, Jan. "How the SCP protocol works". Jan Pechanec's weblog. Oracle. Archived from the original on 2017-02-15. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  3. ^ "OpenSSH 8.0". OpenSSH Release Notes. 17 April 2019.
  4. ^ "OpenSSH 9.0". OpenSSH Release Notes. 8 April 2022.