How to transfer files between a server and a computer

This page shows you how to copy files from your server to your computer and back, for example to keep a copy of a Hiddify backup or to upload a file to the server.

Only need a panel backup?

You do not need any commands for that. In the Hiddify admin panel, open the Backup & restore page and click Download backup. See How to back up and restore the panel.

Before you start

• You know your server's IP address and SSH username (usually root), and you can connect to it over SSH.
• Open a terminal on your computer:
  • Windows: PowerShell
  • macOS: Terminal
  • Linux: Terminal

This page uses scp, a command that copies files over SSH. It is already included in Windows 10 and 11, macOS and Linux.

If Windows says scp is not recognized

Open PowerShell as administrator (right-click PowerShell, then Run as administrator) and run this command to install the OpenSSH client:

Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Client~~~~0.0.1.0

Then close PowerShell and open it again.

Find the file on the server

Hiddify Manager saves an automatic backup of the panel every 6 hours in /opt/hiddify-manager/data/backup/. To see the list, connect to the server over SSH and run:

ls /opt/hiddify-manager/data/backup/

You will see files named by date and time, like 2026_10_20__06_00_03.json:

Pick the file you want to copy and note its name.

Copy a file from the server to your computer

Run this on your own computer, not on the server. The general form is:

scp <user>@<server-ip>:<path/on/server> "<folder on your computer>"

Example: your username is root, the server IP is 1.1.1.1, and you want to copy a backup into the folder C:\Backup:

scp root@1.1.1.1:/opt/hiddify-manager/data/backup/2026_10_20__06_00_03.json "C:\Backup"

Type your server password (or key passphrase) when asked. It worked if the file now appears in C:\Backup.

Copy a file from your computer to the server

Run this on your own computer. Example: the file C:\File\text.txt should go to the /root/ folder on the server:

scp "C:\File\text.txt" root@1.1.1.1:/root/

To check, connect to the server over SSH and run:

ls /root/

It worked if text.txt is in the list.

If it does not work

• No such file or directory: the path is wrong. Check it with ls on the server, and remember that Linux paths are case-sensitive (hiddify-manager, not Hiddify-Manager).
• Permission denied: the username, password or key is wrong, or the user cannot read or write that folder. Use root or a folder your user owns.
• Connection timed out: the server IP or SSH port is wrong. If you changed the SSH port, add -P with the port number (capital P for scp), for example scp -P 2222 ....

Use the web panel instead

In Hiddify Manager v14, the admin panel has an SSH terminal page with a built-in file browser. You can upload files to the server and download files from it there, without a separate program. Avoid entering your server password on third-party websites.

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Last update: October 23, 2026

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