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List of FTP commands

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 172.125.87.174 (talk) at 17:22, 16 November 2016 (Copied link from "External Links" section for the RFC for the CWD command to the RFC column in the list of FTP commands table for the CWD command.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Below is a list of FTP commands that may be sent to an FTP server, including all commands that are standardized in RFC 959 by the IETF. All commands below are RFC 959 based unless stated otherwise. Note that most command-line FTP clients present their own set of commands to users. For example, GET is the common user command to download a file instead of the raw command RETR.

Command RFC Description
ABOR Abort an active file transfer.
ACCT Account information.
ADAT RFC 2228 Authentication/Security Data
ALLO Allocate sufficient disk space to receive a file.
APPE Append.
AUTH RFC 2228 Authentication/Security Mechanism
CCC RFC 2228 Clear Command Channel
CDUP Change to Parent Directory.
CONF RFC 2228 Confidentiality Protection Command
CWD RFC 697 Change working directory.
DELE Delete file.
ENC RFC 2228 Privacy Protected Channel
EPRT RFC 2428 Specifies an extended address and port to which the server should connect.
EPSV RFC 2428 Enter extended passive mode.
FEAT RFC 2389 Get the feature list implemented by the server.
HELP Returns usage documentation on a command if specified, else a general help document is returned.
HOST RFC 7151 Identify desired virtual host on server, by name.
LANG RFC 2640 Language Negotiation
LIST Returns information of a file or directory if specified, else information of the current working directory is returned.
LPRT RFC 1639 Specifies a long address and port to which the server should connect.
LPSV RFC 1639 Enter long passive mode.
MDTM RFC 3659 Return the last-modified time of a specified file.
MIC RFC 2228 Integrity Protected Command
MKD Make directory.
MLSD RFC 3659 Lists the contents of a directory if a directory is named.
MLST RFC 3659 Provides data about exactly the object named on its command line, and no others.
MODE Sets the transfer mode (Stream, Block, or Compressed).
NLST Returns a list of file names in a specified directory.
NOOP No operation (dummy packet; used mostly on keepalives).
OPTS RFC 2389 Select options for a feature.
PASS Authentication password.
PASV Enter passive mode.
PBSZ RFC 2228 Protection Buffer Size
PORT Specifies an address and port to which the server should connect.
PROT RFC 2228 Data Channel Protection Level.
PWD Print working directory. Returns the current directory of the host.
QUIT Disconnect.
REIN Re initializes the connection.
REST RFC 3659 Restart transfer from the specified point.
RETR Retrieve a copy of the file
RMD Remove a directory.
RNFR Rename from.
RNTO Rename to.
SITE Sends site specific commands to remote server.
SIZE RFC 3659 Return the size of a file.
SMNT Mount file structure.
STAT Returns the current status.
STOR Accept the data and to store the data as a file at the server site
STOU Store file uniquely.
STRU Set file transfer structure.
SYST Return system type.
TYPE Sets the transfer mode (ASCII/Binary).
USER Authentication username.
XCUP &1000775 RFC 775 Change to the parent of the current working directory
XMKD &1000775 RFC 775 Make a directory
XPWD &1000775 RFC 775 Print the current working directory
XRCP &1000743 RFC 743
XRMD &1000775 RFC 775 Remove the directory
XRSQ &1000743 RFC 743
XSEM &1000737 RFC 737 Send, mail if cannot
XSEN &1000737 RFC 737 Send to terminal

See also

  • RFC 697 - CWD Command of FTP
  • RFC 959 - File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
  • RFC 1639 - FTP Operation Over Big Address Records (FOOBAR)
  • RFC 2228 - FTP Security Extensions
  • RFC 2389 - Feature negotiation mechanism for the File Transfer Protocol
  • RFC 2428 - FTP Extensions for IPv6 and NATs
  • RFC 2640 - Internationalization of the File Transfer Protocol
  • RFC 3659 - Extensions to FTP
  • RFC 5797 - FTP Command and Extension Registry
  • RFC 7151 - File Transfer Protocol HOST Command for Virtual Hosts
  • IANA FTP Commands and Extensions registry - The official registry of FTP Commands and Extensions
  • Raw FTP command list