downloading file using scp command

Question

I have a centos server lets say with ip: 1.2.3.4. I want to download a file from 1.2.3.4 at path /root/pc/filename.rar to my localhost host (current pc). What command I need to download that file? I am trying like this but its not working

scp root@1.2.3.4:/root/pcfilename.rar

I want to download that file into my system current directory.

Answer 1

Just add where you want it to be copied to (ie: ./):

scp root@1.2.3.4:/root/pcfilename.rar ./

Answer 2

First of all, make sure that the root user is really needed to access the file. If the file can be retrieved by a normal user, that would be preferred to limit the security risks.

If root is really required, make sure that root is actually allowed to login by ssh by checking your /etc/ssh/sshd_config file and see if the PermitRootLogin option is set to yes.

Finally, your command above should work when you add a . (pointing to your current dir) behind it, like so:

scp root@1.2.3.4:/root/pcfilename.rar .

Or you can always use a full path as well:

scp root@1.2.3.4:/root/pcfilename.rar /home/user/pcfilename.rar