NcFTP

NCFTP is an enhanced version of FTP that automates many of the login steps necessary with FTP and adds its own special features. Right now it is an outdated and is surpassed in quality and features by LFTP.  Its main value in the ability to recursively upload directories (see Recursive uploading of directories via FTP), the task in which lftp is weak (mirror command in lftp is about mirroring, not so much about sending files recursively to other server).  Inthis case ncftpdput

When logging into a remote site, NcFTP automatically sends the username and password strings for anonymous access for you. This lets you log in and arrive at the NCFTP prompt ( ncftp> ) with a minimum of typing. If you plan to log in as yourself rather than using anonymous FTP, you can start NCFTP with the -u option to disable the automatic login process.

Most NCFTP commands are identical to the standard FTP commands. The same commands are used for moving files, changing directories, listing directory contents, and so on.

One nice feature of NCFTP is that it displays the current directory path on the remote site at each ncftp> prompt.

In addition, NCFTP remembers the last directory you accessed on a site; the next time you log into that site, you will be placed back at that directory automatically.

Name completion for remote hostnames is another feature of NCFTP. For example, if you've logged into the site ftp.skywalker.jedi.com before, the next time you need to access this site, you can just enter:

  ncftp jedi

NCFTP will then search its database looking for a complete site name that contains the string jedi. If it finds one, then it will go to that site and log you in.

To get a list of NCFTP commands, at the ncftp> prompt, enter a question mark ( ? ).

NEWS CONTENTS

• 20150322 : Linux - Unix ncftp Upload Directory Tree To Remote FTP Server Recursively ( April 27, 2005 , nixCraft )
• 20060314 : Linux.com Upload directories recursively with NcFTP ( Linux.com Upload directories recursively with NcFTP, Mar 14, 2006 )
• 20060314 : NcFTP ( AppWatch.ZDNet.com )

Old News ;-)

[Mar 22, 2015] Linux - Unix ncftp Upload Directory Tree To Remote FTP Server Recursively

April 27, 2005 | nixCraft

by nixCraft on April 27, 2005 · 8 comments· LAST UPDATED October 28, 2012

When you host your web site remotely and and the ftp server is the only way to upload all files including subdirectroies. You need to use special file transfer program such as ncftpget or ncftpput for recursive remote ftp server uploading and downloading purpose. Ncftp is considered as an improved FTP client. Ncftp's improvements include support for command line editing, command histories, recursive gets/puts, automatic anonymous logins, and much more.

... ... ...

The syntax is as follows:

 
ncftpput ftp-host-name /path/to/remote/dir /path/to/local/dir
ncftpput -options ftp-host-name /path/to/remote/dir /path/to/local/dir
 

Try the ncftpput client command as follows:

 
ncftpput -R -v -u "username" ftp.nixcraft.biz /nixcraft/forum /tmp/phpbb
 

Where,

• -u "username" : Ftp server username
• -v : Verbose i.e. show upload progress
• -R : Recursive mode; copy whole directory trees.
• ftp.nixcraft.biz : Remote ftp server (use FQDN or IP).
• /nixcraft/forum : Remote ftp server directory where all files and subdirectories will be uploaded.
• /tmp/phpbb : Local directory (or list of files) to upload remote ftp server directory /nixcraft/forum

You can pass the password with -p option:

 
ncftpput -R -v -u "username" -p "passwordHere" ftp.nixcraft.biz /nixcraft/forum /tmp/phpbb
 

You can use port number 2021 instead of the default FTP service port # 21 as follows:

 
ncftpput -R -v -u "username" -p "passwordHere" -P 2021 ftp.nixcraft.biz /nixcraft/forum /tmp/phpbb
 

See also

• See ftptreeupload.bash script to copy all files and subdirectories recursively and upload them to remote FTP server (copy local all directories/tree to remote ftp server).
• ncftpput client can be downloaded from http://www.ncftp.com/ncftp/ and works with FreeBSD, Solaris and all most all UNIX like variant.

[Mar 14, 2006] Linux.com Upload directories recursively with NcFTP

I recently had to upload some content to a Web site, and the only access available was via FTP. I needed an FTP client capable of uploading a directory structure recursively. I found what I needed in an application called NcFTP.

I started by looking into Mozilla Firefox, but to my surprise, Firefox supports only FTP downloads, not uploads. Mozilla, on the other hand, does support uploads, but it can upload only one file at a time.

Next, I turned to command-line FTP clients. Again, the standard FTP command doesn't support recursive directory upload. Fortunately, many graphical and command-line FTP clients do, including NcFTP, yafc, and LFTP. I picked NcFTP.

After installing the software, connect to your host anonymously by entering the ncftp command followed by the hostname:

ncftp ftp.somedomain.com

or if you need to log in with a valid username, use the -u and -p parameters:

ncftp -u username -p password ftp.somedomain.com

A successful connection puts you in an NcFTP shell. If you've used the standard FTP command before, you should feel right at home here. I'll presume you're familiar with basic FTP commands such as dir and cd. You can use the lls and the lcd commands to list and navigate the local working directory.

NcFTP supports autocompletion for both commands and filenames. For instance, you can type in the first few characters of a filename and then press Tab to fill in the rest of the name automatically.

Recall that my main goal was to upload a directory structure. Use the put -R command to do a recursive directory upload:

ncftp /path > put -R somedir

Standard FTP also supports a put command, but it's limited to uploading single files.

Similarly, you can download a directory recursively using the NcFTP get -R command:

ncftp /path > get -R somedir

More handy features

If you FTP to the same sites regularly, you can save time by using NcFTP's bookmark feature. Bookmarks store the connection information, including the username, the password, the hostname, and the target directory location.

To create a bookmark on a particular directory location, first navigate to that directory and then enter the bookmark command followed by a name to identify the bookmark. For example, type these commands to bookmark /path/somedir and name it topsecret:

ncftp /path > cd somedir
ncftp /path/somedir > bookmark topsecret

A bookmark editor lets you open, edit, delete, replicate, and add bookmarks. Invoke the editor by entering the bookmarks command with no parameters:

ncftp /path > bookmarks

Once you create a bookmark, you can connect to the corresponding host and directory quickly by using the bookmark name. Login is automatic because the bookmark stores the username and password.

For instance, you can connect using a bookmark named topsecret by entering this command in the Linux shell:

ncftp topsecret

Alternatively, you can open a connection while inside the NcFTP shell:

ncftp> open topsecret

Wrapping it up

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) was once a commonly used method for transferring files over the Internet, but recent security concerns have lessened its use in favor of the more secure SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) or Secure Copy (SCP). Nevertheless, FTP may be the only access available to you on occasion.

NcFTP is loaded with useful features. I've touched on only the basics. If you ever require an FTP client more powerful than the standard FTP command, consider NcFTP.

NcFTP

Powerful command-line FTP client for UNIX. Includes NcFTPPut and NcFTPGet, which support FTP for shell scripts. Source code is available.

AppWatch.ZDNet.com

• Easy-to-use command line interface with powerful features.
• Anonymous logins without typing.
• Automatically set to binary file types.
• Login to a host from the command line.
• Login and download a file/a set of files/a set of directories from one command line.
• Easy redialing of busy sites.
• Allows view of remote text files with the "PAGE" command.
• Recursive directory downloads.
• Extensive macro language. Create Your Own Commands!
• Keeps a log of downloads.
• Large Hosts database. Remembers where you've been, and the last directory.
• Nice Visual mode for running the program, and modifying features.
• ReGet is now supported. If the host supports it, NcFTP can continue an aborted download.
• Checks date and time, and will not retrieve existing files.

Recommended Links

Softpanorama Recommended

Top articles

Sites

• NcFTP Home Page

• freshmeat.net Project details for NcFTP Client

• RPM resource ncftp

• cygwin porting project -- /cygwin/Distribution/Source/ncftp/

• NCFTP - a cool ftp client

• ncftp-3.0.1

Etc

Society

Groupthink : Two Party System as Polyarchy : Corruption of Regulators : Bureaucracies : Understanding Micromanagers and Control Freaks : Toxic Managers :   Harvard Mafia : Diplomatic Communication : Surviving a Bad Performance Review : Insufficient Retirement Funds as Immanent Problem of Neoliberal Regime : PseudoScience : Who Rules America : Neoliberalism  : The Iron Law of Oligarchy : Libertarian Philosophy

Quotes

War and Peace : Skeptical Finance : John Kenneth Galbraith :Talleyrand : Oscar Wilde : Otto Von Bismarck : Keynes : George Carlin : Skeptics : Propaganda  : SE quotes : Language Design and Programming Quotes : Random IT-related quotes :  Somerset Maugham : Marcus Aurelius : Kurt Vonnegut : Eric Hoffer : Winston Churchill : Napoleon Bonaparte : Ambrose Bierce :  Bernard Shaw : Mark Twain Quotes

Bulletin:

Vol 25, No.12 (December, 2013) Rational Fools vs. Efficient Crooks The efficient markets hypothesis : Political Skeptic Bulletin, 2013 : Unemployment Bulletin, 2010 :  Vol 23, No.10 (October, 2011) An observation about corporate security departments : Slightly Skeptical Euromaydan Chronicles, June 2014 : Greenspan legacy bulletin, 2008 : Vol 25, No.10 (October, 2013) Cryptolocker Trojan (Win32/Crilock.A) : Vol 25, No.08 (August, 2013) Cloud providers as intelligence collection hubs : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2010 : Inequality Bulletin, 2009 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2008 : Copyleft Problems Bulletin, 2004 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2011 : Energy Bulletin, 2010 : Malware Protection Bulletin, 2010 : Vol 26, No.1 (January, 2013) Object-Oriented Cult : Political Skeptic Bulletin, 2011 : Vol 23, No.11 (November, 2011) Softpanorama classification of sysadmin horror stories : Vol 25, No.05 (May, 2013) Corporate bullshit as a communication method  : Vol 25, No.06 (June, 2013) A Note on the Relationship of Brooks Law and Conway Law

History:

Fifty glorious years (1950-2000): the triumph of the US computer engineering : Donald Knuth : TAoCP and its Influence of Computer Science : Richard Stallman : Linus Torvalds  : Larry Wall  : John K. Ousterhout : CTSS : Multix OS Unix History : Unix shell history : VI editor : History of pipes concept : Solaris : MS DOS :  Programming Languages History : PL/1 : Simula 67 : C : History of GCC development :  Scripting Languages : Perl history   : OS History : Mail : DNS : SSH : CPU Instruction Sets : SPARC systems 1987-2006 : Norton Commander : Norton Utilities : Norton Ghost : Frontpage history : Malware Defense History : GNU Screen : OSS early history

Classic books:

The Peter Principle : Parkinson Law : 1984 : The Mythical Man-Month :  How to Solve It by George Polya : The Art of Computer Programming : The Elements of Programming Style : The Unix Hater’s Handbook : The Jargon file : The True Believer : Programming Pearls : The Good Soldier Svejk : The Power Elite

Most popular humor pages:

Manifest of the Softpanorama IT Slacker Society : Ten Commandments of the IT Slackers Society : Computer Humor Collection : BSD Logo Story : The Cuckoo's Egg : IT Slang : C++ Humor : ARE YOU A BBS ADDICT? : The Perl Purity Test : Object oriented programmers of all nations : Financial Humor : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2008 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2010 : The Most Comprehensive Collection of Editor-related Humor : Programming Language Humor : Goldman Sachs related humor : Greenspan humor : C Humor : Scripting Humor : Real Programmers Humor : Web Humor : GPL-related Humor : OFM Humor : Politically Incorrect Humor : IDS Humor : "Linux Sucks" Humor : Russian Musical Humor : Best Russian Programmer Humor : Microsoft plans to buy Catholic Church : Richard Stallman Related Humor : Admin Humor : Perl-related Humor : Linus Torvalds Related humor : PseudoScience Related Humor : Networking Humor : Shell Humor : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2011 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2012 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2013 : Java Humor : Software Engineering Humor : Sun Solaris Related Humor : Education Humor : IBM Humor : Assembler-related Humor : VIM Humor : Computer Viruses Humor : Bright tomorrow is rescheduled to a day after tomorrow : Classic Computer Humor

The Last but not Least Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand ~Archibald Putt. Ph.D

The statements, views and opinions presented on this web page are those of the author (or referenced source) and are not endorsed by, nor do they necessarily reflect, the opinions of the Softpanorama society. We do not warrant the correctness of the information provided or its fitness for any purpose. The site uses AdSense so you need to be aware of Google privacy policy. You you do not want to be tracked by Google please disable Javascript for this site. This site is perfectly usable without Javascript.

Last modified: March 12, 2019