How to transfer a file between two remote servers using scp from a third, local machine?

Question

I\'m trying to copy a file from one remote server to another remote server from my local machine. Here\'s what I\'m trying

Answer 1

The existing answers assume you can ssh back to the local machine from the remote machines. That's not always possible. In such case, you can use a jump host mechanism. It's actually more efficient anyway.

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If you have a recent OpenSSH (8.0), you can use the -J (jump) switch:

scp -J user@intermediate user@target:/path

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With older versions (but at least 7.3), you can use ProxyJump directive, either on command-line:

scp -o ProxyJump=user@intermediate user@target:/path

or in ssh_config file.

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There are other options like ProxyCommand or port forwarding, which you can use on even older versions of OpenSSH. These are covered in Does OpenSSH support multihop login?