SCP for file transfer in Linux CLI - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

SCP command output for copying a file to a remote server

What is the output of this command when copying a file named report.txt to the remote server server.example.com under user alice in the home directory?

Linux CLI

scp report.txt [e-mail]:~

A No such file or directory: report.txt

B Permission denied (publickey).

C report.txt 100% 1.2KB 1.2KB/s 00:01

D scp: command not found

💡 Hint

Think about what happens when the file exists and you have access to the remote server.

If the file exists locally and you have permission to connect to the remote server, SCP shows a progress line with file name, percentage, size, speed, and time.

💻 Command Output

intermediate

SCP command output when copying a directory recursively

What output will this command produce when copying the local directory project recursively to the remote server backup.example.com under user bob?

Linux CLI

scp -r project [e-mail]:/home/bob/

A

project/file1.txt 100% 5KB 5KB/s 00:00
project/file2.txt 100% 10KB 10KB/s 00:01

B scp: -r: command not found

C Permission denied (password).

D No such file or directory: project

💡 Hint

Remember that -r copies directories recursively and shows progress for each file.

The -r option copies all files inside the directory, showing progress lines for each file transferred.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Identify the error in this SCP command

What error will this command produce and why? scp file.txt user@remote:/path/to/destination/

Linux CLI

scp file.txt user@remote:/path/to/destination/

A scp: file.txt: No such file or directory

B Connection timed out

C scp: /path/to/destination/: Permission denied

D ssh: Could not resolve hostname remote: Name or service not known

💡 Hint

Check the hostname format in the command.

The hostname 'remote' is incomplete or incorrect, causing SSH to fail resolving it.

🧠 Conceptual

advanced

Understanding SCP command options

Which SCP option is used to limit the bandwidth used during file transfer?

A -l

B -r

C -p

D -v

💡 Hint

Think about which option controls speed or limits usage.

The -l option limits the bandwidth in Kbit/s during transfer.

🚀 Application

expert

Automate SCP file transfer with password prompt

You want to automate copying backup.tar.gz to server.example.com under user admin but want to be prompted for the password securely each time. Which command achieves this?

A scp -o PasswordAuthentication=no backup.tar.gz [e-mail]:/backups/

B scp backup.tar.gz [e-mail]:/backups/

C scp -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa backup.tar.gz [e-mail]:/backups/

D scp -P 22 backup.tar.gz [e-mail]:/backups/

💡 Hint

Which command uses password prompt by default?

By default, SCP prompts for password if no key is used. Option B uses default behavior.