How to copy files across computers using SSH and MAC OS X Terminal

copying, file, macos, terminal, unix

Solution

You can do this with the `scp` command, which uses the ssh protocol to copy files across machines. It extends the syntax of `cp` to allow references to other systems:

scp username1@hostname1:/path/to/file username2@hostname2:/path/to/other/file

Copy something from this machine to some other machine:

scp /path/to/local/file username@hostname:/path/to/remote/file

Copy something from another machine to this machine:

scp username@hostname:/path/to/remote/file /path/to/local/file

Copy with a port number specified:

scp -P 1234 username@hostname:/path/to/remote/file /path/to/local/file

Problem

I'm trying to copy my .profile, .rvm and .ssh folders/files to a new computer and keep getting a "not a regular file" response. I know how to use the `cp` and `ssh` commands but I'm not sure how to use them in order to transfer files from one computer to another. Any help would be great, thanks!

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