- See file transfer protocol (disambiguation) for alternative meanings.
A protocol for file transfer or file transfer protocol is a convention or standard that controls or enables the transfer of files between two computing endpoints. Unlike with a general-purpose communication protocol, file transfer protocols are not designed to send arbitrary data or facilitate asynchronous communication such as Telnet sessions. They are meant solely to send the stream of bits stored as a single unit in a file system, plus any relevant metadata such as the filename, file size, and timestamp.
File transfer protocols usually operate on top of a lower-level protocol in a protocol stack. For example, the Internet FTP protocol operates as the topmost layer of the TCP/IP stack, whereas XMODEM, YMODEM, and ZMODEM typically operate across RS-232 serial connections to modems.
List of file transfer protocols
Primarily used with TCP/IP
Primarily used with UDP
Primarily used with direct modem connections
- ASCII dump
- BiMODEM
- Compuserve Quick B
- JMODEM
- HMODEM
- Kermit and variants:
- Megalink
- Punter family:
- SEAlink
- TELINK
- UUCP and variants:
- XMODEM and variants:
- YMODEM and variants:
- ZMODEM