tftp(TC)

tftp -- user interface to the TFTP protocol

Syntax

tftp [ host [ port ]]

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).

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

connect hostname [ port ]: Set the host (and optionally port) for transfers. 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 filename3 ... filenameN: Get a file or set of files (three or more) 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.

Limitations

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.

When using the get command to transfer multiple files from a remote host, three or more files must be specified. The command returns an error message if only two files are specified.

Due to the limitations of the TFTP protocol, the integrity of the data cannot be guaranteed for multiple file transfers using the get or put commands.

On SCO UNIX systems the TFTP server (tftpd) is configured by default not to operate for security reasons. See tftpd(ADMN) for further information.

Files

/etc/hosts

Standards conformance

tftp is conformant with: