Using scp to copy files from remote to home machine

Question

This is probably a simple error, but I can't work it out. My computer hostname is Felix (hostname -f returns Felix) I am trying to move a file from my university account to my home computer using scp. I can ssh easily to the remote computer so that connection is fine, the scp syntax I am using is (whilst connected to remote computer via ssh):

scp myusername@university_computer:/home/myusername/file.odt homeusername@Felix:Desktop/file.odt

I have tried a number of variations of this, and the error it returns is:

ssh: Felix: Name or service not known

Which suggests to me that using homeusername@Felix isn't the right syntax to be using.

I am not a superuser on the university system and only have access to my files, so cannot access any system files.

Any ideas?

jctoledo · Accepted Answer · 2013-08-06T16:05:07.860

92

You do not need to specify your local hostname to scp a file from your university computer. What you need to do is from your home computer open a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and type the following command:

scp myusername@university_computer:/home/myusername/file.odt /local/destination/path/

where /local/destination/path is the local path on Felix where you wish to store the file.

edited Aug 06 '13 at 16:05

answered Aug 06 '13 at 16:01

jctoledo

1,569
13
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2

And of course the command is being run from the local machine – Donato Apr 14 '15 at 08:15
Most people miss the fact that it has to be run from local machine and not from the server side. – kingmaker May 09 '17 at 16:57

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 24 '14 at 20:10

5

i had the exact same problem and this tutorial helped me a lot: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SSH/TransferFiles

answered Feb 24 '14 at 20:10

petyhaker

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score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 07 '13 at 05:35

Ok...couple problems here. You DO NOT need to have the first address if you are on said computer. Lets say you are on comp A. A does not need to have its address written. B needs its IP address written, not its hostname. So... it would be scp /home/user/file username@000.000.000.000:/home/user/

You need your address there, not your hostname. So Felix has nothing to do with this. Do ifconifg and look for your ip, while on that machine.

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 18 '20 at 11:57

0

scp <remote-user-name>@<ec2-endpoint>:/home/<remote-user-name>/<file-to-be-copied> ./Desktop/

This will copy the remote ec2-instance file in you Desktop folder.

answered Sep 18 '20 at 11:57

Kajol kumari singh

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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Jan 02 '21 at 22:21

0

For me, I use FileZilla and the GUI:

answered Jan 02 '21 at 22:21

Shadi Alnamrouti

143

Using scp to copy files from remote to home machine

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