TFTP(1C)

NAME
tftp - trivial file transfer program

SYNOPSIS
tftp [ host ]

AVAILABILITY
This command is available with the Networking software installation option. Refer to for information on how to install optional software.

DESCRIPTION

tftp is the user interface to the Internet TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol), which allows users to transfer files to and from a remote machine. The remote host may be specified on the command line, in which case tftp uses host as the default host for future transfers (see the connect command below).

USAGE

  Commands
Once tftp is running, it issues the prompt: tftp> and recognizes the following commands:

connect host-name [ port ]
    Set the host (and optionally port) for transfers. Note: the TFTP protocol, unlike the FTP protocol, does not maintain connections between transfers; thus, the connect command does not actually create a connection, but merely remembers what host is to be used for transfers. You do not have to use the connect command; the remote host can be specified as part of the get or put commands.

mode transfer-mode
    Set the mode for transfers; transfer-mode may be one of ascii or binary. The default is ascii.

put filename
put localfile remotefile
put filename1 filename2 ... filenameN remote-directory
    Transfer a file, or a set of files, to the specified remote file or directory. The destination can be in one of two forms: a filename on the remote host if the host has already been specified, or a string of the form

        host:filename

    to specify both a host and filename at the same time. If the latter form is used, the specified host becomes the default for future transfers. If the remote-directory form is used, the remote host is assumed to be running the UNIX system.
get filename
get remotename localname
get filename1 filename2 ...  filenameN
    Get a file or set of files from the specified remote sources. source can be in one of two forms: a filename on the remote host if the host has already been specified, or a string of the form

        host:filename

    to specify both a host and filename at the same time. If the latter form is used, the last host specified becomes the default for future transfers.

quit
    Exit tftp. An EOF also exits.

verbose
    Toggle verbose mode.

trace
    Toggle packet tracing.

status
    Show current status.

rexmt retransmission-timeout
    Set the per-packet retransmission timeout, in seconds.

timeout total-transmission-timeout
    Set the total transmission timeout, in seconds.

ascii
    Shorthand for mode ascii.

binary
    Shorthand for mode binary.

? [ command-name ... ]
    Print help information.

WARNING

The default transfer-mode is ascii. This differs from pre-4.0 Sun (and pre-4.3 BSD) releases, so explicit action must now be taken when transferring non-ASCII files such as executable commands.

BUGS

Because there is no user-login or validation within the TFTP protocol, many remote sites restrict file access in various ways. Approved methods for file access are specific to each site, and therefore cannot be documented here.