Copying or moving a remote file using SSH.NET with C#

Question

I know that I can upload and download files from/to a SFTP server using SftpClient class of SSH.NET library but I am not sure how can this class be used for copying or moving a remote file on the SFTP server. I also did not find relevant material on internet. How can i copy or move a remote file from directory A to directory B, using SSH.NET library and C#.

Update: I also tried experimenting with SshClient class using the below code but it does nothing, neither any error nor any exception.

ConnectionInfo ConnNfo = new ConnectionInfo("FTPHost", 22, "FTPUser",
new AuthenticationMethod[]{

   // Pasword based Authentication
   new PasswordAuthenticationMethod("FTPUser","FTPPass")
   }                
   );

using (var ssh = new SshClient(ConnNfo))
{
    ssh.Connect();                
    if (ssh.IsConnected)
    {                    
         string comm = "pwd";
         using (var cmd = ssh.CreateCommand(comm))
         {
            var returned = cmd.Execute();
            var output = cmd.Result;
            var err = cmd.Error;
            var stat = cmd.ExitStatus;
         }
     }
   ssh.Disconnect();
}

On Visual Studio console, i get the below output.

*SshNet.Logging Verbose: 1 : SendMessage to server 'ChannelRequestMessage': 'SSH_MSG_CHANNEL_REQUEST : #152199'.

SshNet.Logging Verbose: 1 : ReceiveMessage from server: 'ChannelFailureMessage': 'SSH_MSG_CHANNEL_FAILURE : #0'.*

I can successfully connect and copy paste files using WinSCP utility. Apart from that, I can successfully connect and download files using the 'SftpClient' class of SSH.NET library. — user1451111, Dec 11 '15 at 11:13
This link might be useful: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11169396/c-sharp-send-a-simple-ssh-command — Hatjhie, Dec 14 '15 at 05:33

Brian Rice · Answer 1 · 2018-10-04T18:08:00.477

22

With the NuGet package SSH.NET by Renci I use the following:

using Renci.SshNet;
using Renci.SshNet.SftpClient;    

...

        SftpClient _sftp = new SftpClient(_host, _username, _password);

To Move a file:

        var inFile = _sftp.Get(inPath);
        inFile.MoveTo(outPath);

To Copy a file:

       var fsIn = _sftp.OpenRead(inPath);
       var fsOut = _sftp.OpenWrite(outPath);

        int data;
        while ((data = fsIn.ReadByte()) != -1)
            fsOut.WriteByte((byte)data);

        fsOut.Flush();
        fsIn.Close();
        fsOut.Close();

edited Oct 04 '18 at 18:08

answered Oct 04 '18 at 18:02

Brian Rice

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This is by far the easiest and best solution here, its also the only solution that worked for me. – Kevin Jul 31 '19 at 10:49
Was there a reason you didn't flush `fsIn`? – Barry O'Kane Aug 15 '19 at 12:16
I think the fsOut.Flush() essentially forced an fsIn.Flush() but not 100% sure – Brian Rice Aug 22 '20 at 04:07
note that MoveTo will move all the files to the new directory – Abdullah Tahan Aug 24 '22 at 16:58
I think it must be `Open(outPath, FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write);` instead of `OpenWrite(outPath)`. Because `OpenWrite` **not overwrite** file. https://github.com/sshnet/SSH.NET/blob/ab2ccc40bce835ce1d3c136aa702459bfd9948b7/src/Renci.SshNet/SftpClient.cs#L1581 – Glebka Feb 16 '23 at 10:30
or `Create(outPath)` – Glebka Feb 16 '23 at 11:40

score 19 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 13 '18 at 19:25

In addition to SSH.NET's SftpClient, there is also the simpler ScpClient which worked when I ran into SftpClient issues. ScpClient only has upload/download functionality, but that satisfied my use case.

Uploading:

using (ScpClient client = new ScpClient(host, username, password))
{
    client.Connect();

    using (Stream localFile = File.OpenRead(localFilePath))
    {
         client.Upload(localFile, remoteFilePath);
    }
}

Downloading:

using (ScpClient client = new ScpClient(host, username, password))
{
    client.Connect();

    using (Stream localFile = File.Create(localFilePath))
    {
         client.Download(remoteFilePath, localFile);
    }
}

Works. Make sure to include the SSH.NET in your project. I used the Nuget package manager. — Umar Dastgir, Sep 14 '18 at 19:33
Is it possible to have any info about progress of uploading? — s4eed, Apr 06 '22 at 08:01

LogicFirst · Answer 3 · 2019-01-12T16:31:45.543

Moving a remote File can be done using SSH.NET library. Available here: https://github.com/sshnet/SSH.NET

Here is sample code to move first file from one source folder to another. Set private variables in the class according to the FTP set up.

using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Renci.SshNet;
using Renci.SshNet.Sftp;
using System.IO;
using System.Configuration;
using System.IO.Compression;

public class RemoteFileOperations
{
    private string ftpPathSrcFolder = "/Path/Source/";//path should end with /
    private string ftpPathDestFolder = "/Path/Archive/";//path should end with /
    private string ftpServerIP = "Target IP";
    private int ftpPortNumber = 80;//change to appropriate port number
    private string ftpUserID = "FTP USer Name";//
    private string ftpPassword = "FTP Password";
    /// <summary>
    /// Move first file from one source folder to another. 
    /// Note: Modify code and add a for loop to move all files of the folder
    /// </summary>
    public void MoveFolderToArchive()
    {
        using (SftpClient sftp = new SftpClient(ftpServerIP, ftpPortNumber, ftpUserID, ftpPassword))
        {
            SftpFile eachRemoteFile = sftp.ListDirectory(ftpPathSrcFolder).First();//Get first file in the Directory            
            if(eachRemoteFile.IsRegularFile)//Move only file
            {
                bool eachFileExistsInArchive = CheckIfRemoteFileExists(sftp, ftpPathDestFolder, eachRemoteFile.Name);

                //MoveTo will result in error if filename alredy exists in the target folder. Prevent that error by cheking if File name exists
                string eachFileNameInArchive = eachRemoteFile.Name;

                if (eachFileExistsInArchive)
                {
                    eachFileNameInArchive = eachFileNameInArchive + "_" + DateTime.Now.ToString("MMddyyyy_HHmmss");//Change file name if the file already exists
                }
                eachRemoteFile.MoveTo(ftpPathDestFolder + eachFileNameInArchive);
            }           
        }
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Checks if Remote folder contains the given file name
    /// </summary>
    public bool CheckIfRemoteFileExists(SftpClient sftpClient, string remoteFolderName, string remotefileName)
    {
        bool isFileExists = sftpClient
                            .ListDirectory(remoteFolderName)
                            .Any(
                                    f => f.IsRegularFile &&
                                    f.Name.ToLower() == remotefileName.ToLower()
                                );
        return isFileExists;
    }

}

Thanks for the suggestion about checking if the file already exists before moving it. I was getting a general `Failure` error, but in reality it was caused by this issue. — Pine Code, Jan 26 '22 at 16:54

Copying or moving a remote file using SSH.NET with C#

3 Answers3