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Sharing files on Linux

Learn how to send and receive files securely and easily over Meshnet on Linux.
This guide provides the information you need to start sharing files over Meshnet on Linux.

Send files

You can initiate a file transfer from the NordVPN app by completing these steps:
  1. 1.
    Open the terminal.
  2. 2.
    Enter the nordvpn meshnet peer list command and copy the Nord name or Meshnet IP address of the device you want to share your files with.
  3. 3.
    Type the nordvpn fileshare send command, followed by your peer device’s Nord name or Meshnet IP address and the path to the file you want to transfer, as shown:
    nordvpn fileshare send <peer> </path/to/your/file>
    Example
    The "Waiting for the peer to accept your transfer" message is displayed in the terminal
  4. 4.
    Add more files to the transfer if needed. You can drag files from the file explorer to the terminal to paste the path. Example
    Two file paths are displayed next to the nordvpn fileshare send command in the terminal
The file transfer begins as soon as the recipient accepts your download request on their device. See how to receive shared files on a Linux device further in this article.
Note
You can only send files to the devices that have the file sharing permission enabled for your device. For more information, see File sharing permissions.

Viewing outgoing transfer history

To display the history of transfers sent from your device, along with their ID, size, status, and other relevant details, use the following command:
nordvpn fileshare list --outgoing
The transfers in the list are arranged in chronological order, with the oldest transfers appearing first.

Receive shared files

To receive files shared from another linked device, perform the following steps:
  1. 1.
    Have your Meshnet peer send the files.
  2. 2.
    Open the terminal.
  3. 3.
    Enter the nordvpn fileshare list command followed by --incoming to display incoming requests, as shown:
    nordvpn fileshare list --incoming
  4. 4.
    Copy the ID of the file transfer request you want to accept.
  5. 5.
    Type nordvpn fileshare accept followed by the file transfer ID from the previous step, as shown:​
    nordvpn fileshare accept <id>
    Example
    CLI showing the "nordvpn drop accept" command followed by the file transfer ID
Once the download is complete, you can find the files shared with you by checking your computer’s default download folder location, which is typically the Downloads folder.
If you want to download only specific files from the transfer, provide the names of the files you choose to accept.
nordvpn fileshare accept <id> <file1> <file2>...​
Example
CLI showing the "nordvpn fileshare accept <id>" command with two file names highlighted
Tip
To display the list of files in a particular transfer directory, enter the nordvpn fileshare list command followed by the transfer ID:
nordvpn fileshare list <id>

Setting the download location

If you want to specify the location on your system where downloaded files will be saved, use the --path command option followed by the desired location and the transfer ID:
nordvpn fileshare accept --path </path/to/directory> <id>

Cancel file transfers

If you need to cancel a transfer while it is still in progress, there are two ways to do it:
  • Using Ctrl+C
  • Using the cancel command

Using the cancel command

The cancel command is typically used when the transfer is running in the background or when you are canceling from a different terminal session.
To cancel a file transfer, enter the following, replacing <id> with the ID of the transfer you want to cancel.
nordvpn fileshare cancel <id>
Example
A message confirming the successful cancellation of a file transfer
Provide a file name if you want to cancel a specific file in the transfer, as shown:
nordvpn fileshare cancel <id> <file>

Run a transfer process in the background

If you want to run a transfer process in the background, use the --background option.
  • When sending a file transfer, enter:
    nordvpn fileshare send --background <peer> </path/to/your/file>
    Example
  • When accepting a file transfer, type:
    nordvpn fileshare accept --background <id>

Display a help message

You can access command information using the --help option. For example, to view help information about the fileshare command, type:
nordvpn fileshare --help

See also

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