Remote file copy, powered by the Dat protocol.
dcp copies files between hosts on a network using the peer-to-peer Dat network. dcp can be seen as an alternative to tools like scp, removing the need to configure SSH access between hosts. This lets you transfer files between two remote hosts, without you needing to worry about the specifics of how said hosts reach each other and regardless of whether hosts are behind NATs.
dcp requires zero configuration and is secure, fast, and peer-to-peer.
WARNING - this is not production-ready software. Use at your own risk
- Send files to multiple colleagues - just send the generated public key via chat and they can receive the files on their machine.
- Sync files between two physical computers on your local network, without needing to set up SSH access.
- Easily send files to a friend without needing to create a zip and upload it the cloud.
- Copy files to a remote server when you have shell access but not SSH, for example on a kubernetes pod.
- Share files between linux/macOS and Windows, which isn't exactly known for great SSH support.
dcp will create a dat archive for a specified set of files or directories and, using the generated public key, lets you download said archive from a second host. Any data shared over the network is encrypted using the public key of the archive, meaning data access is limited to those who have access to said key. For more information on how Dat works, you can browse the docs or read their whitepaper.
Advantages over plain dat
dcp is designed to have an API that is more reminiscent of scp and rsync. The standard cli dat program requires the additional mental overhead of understanding how the underlying Dat protocol works. dat forces you to share a single whole folder, whilst with dcp you can copy an arbitrary set of paths. dat also pollutes the filesystem with metadata files, whereas with dcp these are kept in-memory instead.
You can expect dcp to transfer at a similar speed to both rsync and scp.
Here's a benchmark for moving a 396.12MB file from my personal computer to a remote server over my 50mpbs connection.
| Method | Time |
|---|---|
| rsync | 1m07s |
| scp | 1m07s |
| dcp | 1m10s |
npm i -g dat-cp
Alternatively, packaged binaries are available on the releases page. These bundle all dependencies into a single standalone binary.
Simply extract the zip and move the dcp[.exe] and node-64.node binaries to a folder in your path, e.g. /usr/local/bin.
Usage: dcp [options] {files ... | key}
Dat Copy - remote file copy, powered by the dat protocol.
Options:
-V, --version output the version number
-r, --recursive recursively copy directories
-n, --dry-run show what files would have been copied
--skip-prompt automatically download without a prompt
-v, --verbose verbose mode - prints extra debugging messages
-h, --help output usage information
Example:
Send files from host A:
> dcp foo.txt bar.txt
Receive files on host B:
> dcp <generated public key>
Pass an arbitrary set of files or directories to dcp to be copied. Copy the generated public key and use it to receive the files on a different host.
> dcp [-r] [-n] [-v] files ...- Use
-n/--dry-runto see what files will be sent - Use
-r/--recursiveto recursively copy files within directories - Use
-v/--verboseto print extra debugging information
Invoke dcp with the generated public key to receive the copied files.
> dcp [-n] [-v] [--skip-prompt] <generated public key>- Use
-n/--dry-runto see what files will be received - Use
-v/--verboseto print extra debugging information - Use
--skip-promptto skip the download prompt
Install dependencies:
npm i
Run the tests:
npm t
Test the CLI executable
npm run cli -- foo.txt -v
Note the -- preceding the arguments.