LFTP is an advanced file transfer software that operates through a command line interface.
One of the standout features of LFTP is its unwavering reliability. The software handles any non-fatal errors it encounters and automatically retries the given operation. Therefore, if a download were to break, LFTP would automatically restart the download from the point at which it left off. The software will even retrieve a file from the beginning if an FTP server does not support the REST command.
This feature comes in handy for machines with dynamic IP addresses that constantly change, or for sites with poor internet connectivity. If you exit LFTP while some processes are still ongoing, the software will automatically move itself to nohup mode in the background. This is also true if a modem disconnects, or you close an xterm.
LFTP features a command syntax similar to that of the shell, allowing users to engage in several commands simultaneously in the background. It is also possible to group commands and execute them in the background, with all background jobs being executed within the same process. You can bring a foreground job to the background using ^Z (c-z) or move it back to the foreground using the `wait' command (or by using the `fg' command, which is an alias to `wait').
Commands can be conditionally executed based on the status of previous commands (&&, ||). LFTP also allows for redirecting the output of certain commands (such as cat or ls) to a file or via pipe to an external command.
The software also has an inbuilt mirror function that can download or update an entire directory tree. There is also a reverse mirror (mirror -R) that can upload or update an entire directory tree onto a server. The `at' command lets you initiate a job at a particular time in the current context, while the `queue' command can sequence commands sequentially for your current server.
LFTP supports IPv6 for both HTTP and FTP protocols, using the method outlined in RFC2428. It also supports a variety of other low-level stuff, including FTP and HTTP proxies, FTP over HTTP, opie/skey, FXP transfers, and SOCKS. If LFTP was compiled with SSL support, it includes software developed by OpenSSL.
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