How to copy files between two servers without downloading them first

• The RemoteAccessApp app on a Windows PC that can reach both servers. Download it free.
• The sign-in details for each server: a user name with a password or an SSH key, for SFTP or SSH, or FTP details.
• A PC with a fast, steady connection for big jobs: the data passes through it, so its connection sets the speed.

The two servers never connect to each other. Each one only talks to your PC, with its own sign-in, so neither needs the other's password, and a server on a private network can send to one in the cloud as long as your PC can reach both.

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   Step 1: Save both servers as hosts

   On the Connections page, click Add host and add each server as SFTP, SSH or FTP, with its password or key. The first time you connect to an SSH or SFTP server, check its key and trust it; the server keys help page explains how.

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   Step 2: Open a copy tab

   Open Copy files and choose Copy between servers… (it's in Ctrl+K too). Or right-click one of the servers and choose Copy files to another server…, or click Open second server in an SFTP or FTP tab you already have open. The Copy files tab and the server menu item were added to make this easier to find, as what's new in October 2026 describes.

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   Step 3: Pick a server on each side

   Choose the source on one side and the destination on the other, and open the folders you want. Either side can also be This PC, or one of your online PCs.

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   Step 4: Choose how to copy

   Pick Copy or Move, how many files go At once, and what happens If it exists: Skip, Keep both or Replace. Tick Verify to check each copy against the original.

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   Step 5: Copy, and keep an eye on it

   Select files or folders and copy them across. Each file shows its progress. Use Pause all, Resume all or Cancel all when you need to, then Retry failed and Clear finished at the end.

• Move for migrations. Move deletes each file from the source only once it's safely copied, so a half-finished move never loses anything.
• Verify for anything that matters. It compares SHA-256 checksums where both sides can work them out: this PC, and SFTP hosts with sha256sum. Use it for backups and database dumps.
• At once for lots of small files. Several files copying side by side keep the line busy. For a few huge files, fewer at once is fine.
• If it exists, decided once. When a name is taken you're asked; tick Do this for the rest of this transfer to stop being asked again.

A dropped connection is retried by itself, three times over about two minutes, and on SFTP the copy carries on from where it stopped. Each file is written under a temporary name and only renamed into place once it's complete, so there are no half files left looking like real ones.

Anything that still fails stays in the list with the reason: a full disk, missing permissions or a dropped server are the usual ones. Fix the cause and click Retry failed. Closing the tab while copies are running asks Stop the transfers?, and app updates wait until transfers finish. The help article on how to copy files between two servers sums up every choice in one place.

For a deploy, the same files often go to several servers. Upload to servers… (Ctrl+Shift+U in a file pane) sends them, from this PC or from one server, to every server you tick, each into its own folder with its own progress, so one slow server doesn't hold up the rest. There's more on the server-to-server file transfer page, and how server-to-server transfers save DevOps time shows where it fits in day-to-day work.