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File Operations

TL;DR

CMDOP CLI provides complete file operations on remote machines via cmdop files subcommands. List directories, download/upload files and directories, read/tail/follow files, delete, copy, move, and sync. Supports recursive transfers with progress display, rsync-like directory sync with --delete and --dry-run options. Use hostname:path syntax to target remote files.

Transfer and manage files on remote machines.

How do I list a remote directory?

# List files and directories at a remote path
cmdop files ls <hostname>:<path>

Example:

# List log files on the production server
cmdop files ls prod-server:/var/log

Output:

NAME          SIZE       MODIFIED
app.log       1.2 MB     2 hours ago
nginx/        -          1 day ago
syslog        45 KB      just now

What listing options are available?

# Include hidden files
cmdop files ls prod-server:/home/deploy --all
 
# Long format
cmdop files ls prod-server:/var/log --long
 
# JSON output
cmdop files ls prod-server:/var/log --json

How do I download a file?

# Download a file from remote to local filesystem
cmdop files get <hostname>:<remote> <local>

Examples:

# Download single file
cmdop files get prod-server:/var/log/app.log ./app.log
 
# Download to current directory
cmdop files get prod-server:/var/log/app.log .
 
# Download with different name
cmdop files get prod-server:/var/log/app.log ./logs/production.log

How do I download a directory?

# Download an entire directory recursively
cmdop files get prod-server:/app/logs ./local-logs --recursive

How do I upload a file?

# Upload a local file to a remote machine
cmdop files put <local> <hostname>:<remote>

Examples:

# Upload single file
cmdop files put ./config.yaml prod-server:/app/config.yaml
 
# Upload with different name
cmdop files put ./local.conf prod-server:/etc/app/production.conf

How do I upload a directory?

# Upload an entire directory recursively
cmdop files put ./dist prod-server:/app/public --recursive

How do I read a remote file?

# Print remote file contents to stdout
cmdop files cat <hostname>:<path>

Example:

# Read hostname from remote machine
cmdop files cat prod-server:/etc/hostname

How do I tail a remote file?

# Last 100 lines
cmdop files cat prod-server:/var/log/app.log --tail 100
 
# Follow (like tail -f)
cmdop files cat prod-server:/var/log/app.log --follow

How do I delete a remote file?

# Delete a file on a remote machine
cmdop files rm <hostname>:<path>

Examples:

# Delete file
cmdop files rm prod-server:/tmp/old-file.txt
 
# Delete directory
cmdop files rm prod-server:/tmp/old-dir --recursive

How do I create a remote directory?

# Create a directory on a remote machine
cmdop files mkdir <hostname>:<path>

Example:

# Create a logs directory on the production server
cmdop files mkdir prod-server:/app/logs

How do I copy a remote file?

# Copy a file on a remote machine
cmdop files cp <hostname>:<source> <hostname>:<dest>

Example:

# Create a backup copy of a config file
cmdop files cp prod-server:/app/config.yaml prod-server:/app/config.yaml.backup

How do I move or rename a remote file?

# Move or rename a file on a remote machine
cmdop files mv <hostname>:<source> <hostname>:<dest>

Example:

# Move uploaded file to its final location
cmdop files mv prod-server:/tmp/upload.txt prod-server:/app/data.txt

How do I get file info?

# Show size, permissions, owner, and modification time
cmdop files info <hostname>:<path>

Output:

Path:     /var/log/app.log
Size:     1,234,567 bytes
Mode:     0644
Owner:    deploy
Group:    deploy
Modified: 2026-02-14 10:30:00

How do I sync a directory?

# Sync local directory to remote (only transfers changed files)
cmdop files sync <local> <hostname>:<remote>

Only transfers changed files (like rsync):

cmdop files sync ./project prod-server:/app

Options:

# Delete files on remote not in local
cmdop files sync ./project prod-server:/app --delete
 
# Dry run
cmdop files sync ./project prod-server:/app --dry-run

What does the progress display look like?

Large transfers show progress:

Uploading: data.tar.gz
[β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–‘β–‘β–‘β–‘β–‘β–‘β–‘β–‘] 60% 120 MB/200 MB 5.2 MB/s ETA: 15s

What are some scripting examples?

Backup

#!/bin/bash
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
cmdop files get prod-server:/data/db.sqlite ./backup/db-$DATE.sqlite
cmdop files get prod-server:/data/uploads ./backup/uploads-$DATE --recursive

Deploy

#!/bin/bash
# Upload new version
cmdop files put ./dist prod-server:/app/public-new --recursive
 
# Swap directories
cmdop exec prod-server "mv /app/public /app/public-old && mv /app/public-new /app/public"
 
# Restart
cmdop exec prod-server "systemctl restart app"

Config Sync

#!/bin/bash
SERVERS="web-1 web-2 web-3"
for server in $SERVERS; do
  cmdop files put ./config.yaml $server:/app/config.yaml
done
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