I SSH into a few servers now and then, oftentimes to copy large files or a large amount of files from one server to another. Typically I use either scp, ftp, or rsync.

My question is, what happens if I get a transfer going (scp, ftp, rsync) and then quit out of the SSH session? Would the operation/transfer still proceed, or does it end as soon as I would close Putty or whatever SSH client?

The reason I'm asking is because oftentimes, these transfers can take some time, but it only takes me a few seconds to give the command. It would be handy if I didn't have to worry about keeping the SSH connection going, but I'm just not sure how that works.

Hello and Welcome to LinuxQuestions,

Have a look at the nohup command:
and how to put a process in the background using & at the end of the command. Basically
will detach the command from the shell/console with the nohup and put it in the background with the & at the end. Then you can safely disconnect your SSH session. You can check by logging in again and see if your process is still running.

Kind regards,

Eric

You can also use tool screen .