How to upload (SCP) files to server in a Bash script

To create a script copies files from a local machine to a remote server, you can use the scp command in a Bash script. Here's how you can write a script that copies a file or multiple files to the remote server:

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Create the Bash Script

1. Open Terminal on your Mac.
2. Create a new script file (e.g., scp_upload.sh):

nano scp_upload.sh

3. Add the following content to the script. Replace the placeholder values with your remote server details and file paths.

Syntax of scp command:

# scp -r <source_file_or_directory> <username>@<host>:<destination>

Bash script command:

#!/bin/bash

# Server Details
REMOTE_HOST="server.example.com"   # Replace with your server's IP address or hostname
REMOTE_USER="your_username"        # Replace with your remote server username
REMOTE_PASS="your_password"        # Replace with your remote password
REMOTE_DIR="/remote/uploads"       # Replace with the remote directory where files will be uploaded
REMOTE_PORT="22"                   # Replace with your remote port
LOCAL_DIR="/Users/yourusername/Documents/files"   # Replace with your local directory containing the files

# SCP Command to Upload Files
sshpass -p "$REMOTE_PASS" scp -P "$REMOTE_PORT" -r "$LOCAL_DIR"/* "$REMOTE_USER"@"$REMOTE_HOST":"$REMOTE_DIR"

# Check for errors
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "Files successfully uploaded to $REMOTE_USER@$REMOTE_HOST:$REMOTE_DIR"
else
    echo "Error: File upload failed."
fi

Step 2: Make the Script Executable

After saving the script, make it executable by running the following command in Terminal:

chmod +x scp_upload.sh

Step 3: Run the Script

Run the script to upload the files:

./scp_upload.sh

Step 4: Example Usage

Suppose you want to upload files from your local directory /Users/yourusername/Documents/files to the remote directory /remote/uploads, you would edit the script like this:

REMOTE_HOST="server.example.com"
REMOTE_USER="your_username"     
REMOTE_PASS="your_password"
REMOTE_PORT="22"
REMOTE_DIR="/remote/uploads"
LOCAL_DIR="/Users/yourusername/Documents/files"

After saving the script and making it executable, run:

./scp_upload.sh

This will upload all files in the files directory to the /remote/uploads directory on your remote server.