Directory Transfer

SCP can copy entire directory trees recursively using the -r flag. This is useful for deploying application folders, copying configuration directories, or moving project structures between servers.

Syntax

scp -r [OPTIONS] SOURCE_DIR DESTINATION

Trailing Slash Behavior

Unlike rsync, SCP does not distinguish between dir and dir/. Both will copy the directory itself (not just the contents). The result is always destination/dir/.

Copy Patterns

1. Push a Local Directory to Remote

Command:

scp -r ./my-project/ deploy@server:/opt/apps/

Output:

index.html                             100% 4096     2.1MB/s   00:00
style.css                              100% 2048     1.8MB/s   00:00
app.js                                 100% 8192     3.4MB/s   00:00
config.json                            100% 1024     1.2MB/s   00:00

The result on the remote server:

/opt/apps/my-project/
├── index.html
├── style.css
├── app.js
└── config.json

2. Pull a Remote Directory to Local

Command:

scp -r admin@server:/etc/nginx/ ./nginx-backup/

Output:

nginx.conf                             100% 4096     2.5MB/s   00:00
sites-available/default                100% 1024     1.1MB/s   00:00
sites-enabled/default                  100%   35     0.5MB/s   00:00
mime.types                             100% 5120     3.0MB/s   00:00

3. Recursive Copy with Preserved Attributes

Command:

scp -rp ./configs/ admin@server:/etc/app/

Output:

app.conf                               100% 2048     1.5MB/s   00:00
db.conf                                100%  512     0.8MB/s   00:00
cache.conf                             100%  256     0.6MB/s   00:00

The -p flag ensures modification times, access times, and file permissions are preserved.

4. Recursive Copy with Bandwidth Limit

Command:

scp -r -l 10000 ./uploads/ admin@server:/var/www/uploads/

Output:

photo1.jpg                             100%   5MB   1.2MB/s   00:04
photo2.jpg                             100%   3MB   1.2MB/s   00:02
photo3.jpg                             100%   8MB   1.2MB/s   00:06

The -l 10000 limits bandwidth to approximately 10 Mbit/s (1.2 MB/s).

5. Recursive Copy with Compression

Command:

scp -rC ./logs/ admin@server:/archive/logs/

Output:

access.log                             100%  150MB  25.0MB/s   00:06
error.log                              100%   50MB  22.0MB/s   00:02
debug.log                              100%  200MB  28.0MB/s   00:07

The -C flag compresses data in transit. Text-heavy files like logs benefit most.

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall	What Happens	Prevention
Forgetting -r	Only copies the directory entry, not its contents	Always use -r for directories
Symlinks in tree	Symlinks are followed and real files are copied	Be aware of link targets on the source
Large nested trees	Very slow compared to rsync (no delta)	Use tar + SCP or switch to rsync
Permission mismatch	Remote user may not own copied files	Use -p or chown after transfer

What's Next?

Learn how to use wildcards and transfer multiple files in Wildcard and Multiple Files.