scp from remote Linux to local Windows with spaces in local path

To push a file from a Linux terminal to a Windows system, the following two examples work just fine.

scp /home/user.name/file.html user.name@local.ip.num:/C:/Users/user.name/test_folder/file.html

scp /home/user.name/file.html user.name@local.ip.num:"/C:/Users/user.name/test_folder/file.html"

I need to do this where the local folder has spaces and I cannot change the name, say /C:/Users/user.name/test folder/

All of the following fail with the message scp: ambiguous target

scp /home/user.name/file.html user.name@local.ip.num:"/C:/Users/user.name/test folder/file.html"

scp /home/user.name/file.html user.name@local.ip.num:"/C:/Users/user.name/test\ folder/file.html"

scp /home/user.name/file.html user.name@local.ip.num:"'/C:/Users/user.name/test\ folder/file.html'"

scp /home/user.name/file.html user.name@local.ip.num:"/C:/Users/user.name/test\\ folder/file.html"

scp /home/user.name/file.html user.name@local.ip.num:"'/C:/Users/user.name/test\\ folder/file.html'"

scp /home/user.name/file.html user.name@local.ip.num:"/C:/Users/user.name/test\\\ folder/file.html"

scp /home/user.name/file.html user.name@local.ip.num:"'/C:/Users/user.name/test\\\ folder/file.html'"

How do I get this to work?

Answer

• 
  

  Try using quotes ' or Double quotes " around complete argument.

  
  

  As suggested by @dirkt in comments Quoting the complete path argument for the ssh host should do the work. That makes your command like this :

  
  

  scp /home/user.name/file.html 'user.name@local.ip.num:/C:/Users/user.name/test folder/'
  



• 
  

  Use escape sequence for space in between name of folder.

  
  

  You can use \ (backslash with a space) that is escape sequence for a space. That makes your command like this :

  
  

  scp /home/user.name/file.html 'user.name@local.ip.num:/C:/Users/user.name/test\ folder/'
  

  
  

  Notice the \ with a space in between test & folder that makes it test\ folder.

  
  


• 
  

  It maybe the case that you need to escape twice as It is escaped first locally and then on the remote end. In that case you can write like this :

  
  
  
  
  1. 
     

     "'complete argument'" inside quotes within double quotes like this :

     
     

     "'user.name@local.ip.num:/C:/Users/user.name/test folder/'"
     

     
     

     OR

     
     
  
  
  2. 
     

     Escape spaces and quote complete argument like this :

     
     

     'user.name@local.ip.num:/C:/Users/user.name/test\ folder/'
     

     
     

     OR

     
     
  
  
  3. 
     

     Escape twice directly using escape sequence like this

     
     

     user.name@local.ip.num:/C:/Users/user.name/test\\ folder/
     

  
  
  
  

Feel free to add-in more details.