Columbia University Libraries

INTERNET QUICK GUIDE: FTP COMMANDS (on CUNIX)

Anonymous FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows anyone on the Internet to connect to an anonymous (public) FTP archive on another computer on the Internet and to look at and/or transfer files to one's own computer. These archived files could be computer software, computer graphics, or text files such as papers, journals, discussion groups, course syllabi, or bibliographies.
On CUNIX, an FTP session is initiated under UNIX by typing ftp (or ftp site address) at the UNIX ($) prompt. When an FTP session is initiated, the prompt changes to ftp> . Once connected to the site, you will be asked for NAME (your account). Type anonymous . Then, when asked for password, type your email address (in most cases).

SHORT COMMAND SUMMARY (Table Version. Click here for plain text version)
Purpose Command
Get full list of FTP host commands within FTP session help
Initiate FTP session ftp OR ftp site address
Connect to a site if you opened a session without specifying the site name open site address
Display name of directory you are currently in pwd
Display names of files in directory ls -al
..as above, but "piped" (scrolls one screen at a time) ls -al | more
Change directory:
Absolute
Relative
cd /directory name
cd directory name
Move up one level in a directory structure cd .. OR cdup
Display text of specific file, pausing screen by screen get filename|more
Transfer or copy file from FTP host to CUNIX (+ see note about binary files) get filename
Transfer or copy multiple files from FTP host to CUNIX:
Using multiple filenames
Using wildcards (*) to substitute for some characters.
mget filename filename ...
mget *.txt
Check space available in your CUNIX account quota -v
Exit FTP session quit

Some larger FTP files can occupy considerable space, so make sure that you have enough space available for the file(s) you are retrieving before you launch your FTP session. Use the quota -v command to check your space quota and overall usage on your CUNIX account. Then use the pwd command to find the full name of your home directory; then match that name with the correct line of the display shown with your quota -v display. The usage, quota, and limit columns are measured in kilobytes.
If what you want is bigger than the space you have available, then you can use the scratch directory to temporarily store larger files. You must change your directory before you begin your FTP session: type cd /scratch at the UNIX ($) prompt.
After you are finished, download these files to your microcomputer using Kermit or PC/Mac FTP client software and delete the files in /scratch.

There are many file types in FTP archives and they are usually tagged with an extension denoting the format. Some examples:
Extension File type Data type Extension File type Data type
.txt ASCII/text ASCII .doc ASCII/text ASCII
.com program binary .exe program binary
.ps postscript binary .Z (UNIX) compressed binary
.zip (DOS) compressed binary .gif graphics binary
If you are retrieving a binary file, type binary at the ftp> prompt before getting the file. To return to ASCII format, type ASCII at the ftp> prompt before getting the file. If you use Kermit to download files from CUNIX to your machine, start up Kermit on CUNIX with the kermit -i option, which signifies that you are transmitting a file in binary format, not in text format.

More Info: To access the online reference manual on FTP type man ftp at the UNIX prompt ($): man ftp
Last update: 8/11/95 -- About this document [IQG-2t]