Newsprint
Newsprint
Newsprint

Command Line FTP FAQ

Did you know that all Windows and Unix/Linux machines have built-in FTP software already? And since OSX runs on top of UNIX, Mac users have it too.

If you are running Unix/Linux, you more than likely know how to access and use a console. To use this software in Windows, go Start>Run and type cmd in the box. Then click OK. You should see a "DOS prompt", or console window.

Although at first glance a console FTP session can look intimidating, nothing could be further from the truth. Follow the step-by-step guidelines to quickly master this power-user technique.

 

In this window, type ftp ftp.fricke-parks.com and hit enter.

At the login: prompt, type press and hit enter.

It will ask you for your password, enter it as well.

To send a file first we specify the send mode binary.

Then we put the file on the server.

Next, we ls (think "list" and note it is lower case L, not an I) to check that our file is there.

Finally always remember to type bye to log out of server... do not just close the console window.

Below is an entire FTP session. The parts you type have been highlighted in yellow.

The server response to the ls command which shows your file on the server is highlighted in blue.

 

 

Sending a file this way provides no visual feedback as to how far along the transfer is. This can be nerve wracking. To see a progress bar to track the status of the transfer, type hash and hit enter before you put your file. A series of hashmarks will appear, one for every 2048 bytes of your file. Note that for large transfers, this will fill the command window several times over. As long as the hashmarks are progressing, you are in business. Below is an example of a transfer using the hash.

 

 

There are ways to send multiple files at once, but the easiest way to send many files is to compress them into a single archive, and then send this one single file as outlined above.

 

True power users can try out NFTP, a cross platform expert-level tool for file transfer. Please note we can not provide support for this software! Check it out at http://www.ayukov.com/nftp/index.html.