FTP 101 – Part 7: Difference between put and mput

Published {$created} by Carsten Blum

Uploading files with FTP can be simple – if you know the difference between put and mput.Just like get vs mget, the “m” stands for “multiple” – and that’s the key.

In this short tutorial, we’ll walk through what these commands do, when to use each, and how to avoid common mistakes.

As always, to follow along with this tutorial you need to create an account with ftpGrid.

put – Upload a single file

Use the put command to upload one specific file from your local machine to the remote FTP server.

Example:

put backup.sql

This uploads backup.sql from your current local directory to the current remote directory on the FTP server.

Want to rename the file during upload? Just pass a second filename:

put backup.sql db-2025.sql

This uploads the file but saves it as db-2025.sql on the server.

mput – Upload multiple files at once

mput stands for “multiple put” and is used to upload many files at once, typically using wildcards like *.txt or *.log.

Example:

mput *.txt

This uploads all .txt files in the current local directory.

By default, you’ll be asked to confirm each file:

mput notes.txt? y  
mput report.txt? y

To skip these prompts, run:

prompt

Now when you run mput *.txt, all matching files will upload without asking.

Combining with lcd, cd, and ls

To control where files go, use these:

• lcd /local/path – change the local directory

• cd /remote/path – change the remote directory

• ls – list files in the current remote directory

Example session:

lcd ~/logs  
cd /uploads  
prompt  
mput *.log

This uploads all .log files from your ~/logs folder into /uploads on the server, with no prompts.

Summary: When to use put vs mput

Common mistakes to avoid

• ❌ Trying put *.txt – won’t work! Only mput supports wildcards.

• ❌ Forgetting to disable prompts before using mput – you’ll have to confirm every file.

Need to automate it all? Consider scripting with lftp or switching to SFTP. ftpGrid supports both!