#openssh

It lets you copy files over an ssh pipe; if there's an ssh server on that host, you can essentially directly address a known file on that filesystem and say pwease gimme. And it's roughly the same syntax as `cp`, just with a `[user]@[host]:` before *either source or destination*[2].

And the real kicker is that neither source nor destination need be local:

I copied a file from my web server to an icecast source client host by passing it through my phone.

Unreasonably handy tool to have on your toolbelt.

Footnotes under the cut.

00) Password Authentication, a weakness it is. SSH Keys, use you must

01) Root Login, a vulnerability it presents. Restrict it, you shall

02) OpenSSH, updated it must be kept

Remember, young Padawan, security a journey is, not a destination. Vigilant, you must remain.

If you install OpenSSH, the "scp" command NO LONGER uses the original Secure Copy Protocol. The original Secure Copy Protocol is outdated and insecure, and if you have a system that has it installed somehow, please get rid of it and/or don't use it.

According to Wikipedia, as of OpenSSH v9, the "scp" command uses SFTP, which is good and works and is secure.

The confusion is reasonable given that it's hard to tell someone that the "scp" command. doesn't use the scp protocol. And instead uses the protocol of another command instead. But yes, using "scp" or "sftp" both are okay because "scp" uses SFTP under the hood anyway.