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linscp and WinSCP
What linscp shares with WinSCP, what works differently on Linux, and what is not offered.
linscp is built from WinSCP’s source. The part that talks to servers is WinSCP’s own code, compiled unchanged; the windows and dialogs are rewritten in Qt. If you know WinSCP, you already know most of linscp. This page lists where the two meet and where they part.
What stays the same
Section titled “What stays the same”- Protocols and behaviour. Connections, transfers, synchronization and error messages come from WinSCP’s core (version 6.7.1 in linscp 0.6.1).
- Menus and dialogs. linscp keeps WinSCP’s captions, menu order and most keyboard shortcuts, in both the Commander and Explorer layouts.
- Scripts.
linscp-cliruns WinSCP scripts with the same commands and switches. See scripting with linscp-cli. - Session URLs such as
sftp://alice@example.com/open a session, as in WinSCP. - Translations. Messages from the core use WinSCP’s translators’ work. See translations.
Program names
Section titled “Program names”| WinSCP | linscp |
|---|---|
WinSCP.exe |
linscp (linscp.exe on Windows) |
WinSCP.com |
linscp-cli |
Shared settings
Section titled “Shared settings”Settings live in ~/.config/linscp/WinSCP.ini, in WinSCP’s INI format.
To bring your sites over from Windows, export the configuration from
WinSCP as an INI file and copy it to that path. WinSCP itself never reads
this file.
An installed linscp uses WinSCP’s registry key,
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2. Both programs see
the same sites, preferences and remembered host keys, and a change in one
shows up in the other. The portable zip keeps its own linscp.ini
instead.
Different on Linux
Section titled “Different on Linux”- SSH agent. There is no bundled Pageant. linscp talks to the agent named
in
$SSH_AUTH_SOCK, usuallyssh-agentor your desktop’s key manager. - PuTTYgen and Pageant. The Run PuTTYgen and Run Pageant tools
work only if those programs are on your
PATH. Edit in PuTTY and Generate New Key Pair with PuTTYgen are Windows only. Create keys withssh-keygen, and convert them withlinscp-cli /keygen; see SSH keys. - WebDAV sign-in. Integrated Windows authentication (SSPI) and GSSAPI are not available for WebDAV.
- TLS certificates. linscp checks a server’s chain against the system’s trusted roots. It does not download a missing intermediate certificate and does not check revocation, so a server that omits its intermediate is refused.
- Sort order. File lists may order names with accents or punctuation differently from WinSCP.
- File names. Names that differ only in letter case are separate files, as Linux treats them.
- Desktop integration. The Send To shortcut, the jump list and the
drag-and-drop shell extension exist only on Windows. On Linux, linscp
registers as the handler for
sftp://and similar links through its desktop file; see Linux desktop integration. - Extensions. Custom command extensions are mostly PowerShell scripts built on WinSCP’s .NET assembly, so they run only on Windows.
Different everywhere
Section titled “Different everywhere”- Updates. Help › Check for Updates asks linscp’s GitHub releases. Automatic checks are off until you turn them on. See privacy.
- Help pages. Help › Contents still opens WinSCP’s online documentation, which matches the interface but not linscp’s Linux differences. The other Help entries open linscp’s GitHub pages.
Not offered
Section titled “Not offered”- WinSCP’s tips, usage statistics and the donors’ automatic updates.
- The COM interface for scripting from other Windows programs.
- An MSI package, a Microsoft Store listing or an rpm package.
- Code-signed binaries (planned).
Support
Section titled “Support”linscp is not supported by the WinSCP project. Report linscp problems on linscp’s issue tracker, not on WinSCP’s forum. See getting help.