File Transfer with SCP | NVIDIA Brev Documentation

Transfer files between your local machine and Brev GPU instances using SCP or the built-in brev copy command.

Prerequisites

Brev CLI installed and logged in
A running Brev instance
SSH config updated (brev refresh)

Using brev copy

The brev copy command wraps SCP with automatic instance resolution.

Upload Files to Instance

Copy a local file to your instance:

$ brev copy ./local-file.txt my-instance:/home/ubuntu/

Copy a directory recursively:

$ brev copy -r ./my-project my-instance:/home/ubuntu/

Download Files from Instance

Copy a file from your instance to local:

$ brev copy my-instance:/home/ubuntu/results.csv ./

Copy a directory:

$ brev copy -r my-instance:/home/ubuntu/outputs ./local-outputs

brev copy Flags

Flag	Description
`-r`	Recursive copy (for directories)
`--host`	Copy to/from the host machine instead of container.

Direct SCP Usage

You can also use SCP directly with the Brev-managed SSH key.

Basic Syntax

$ # Upload to instance
$ scp -i ~/.brev/brev.pem ./file.txt ubuntu@<instance-ip>:/home/ubuntu/
$ 
$ # Download from instance
$ scp -i ~/.brev/brev.pem ubuntu@<instance-ip>:/home/ubuntu/file.txt ./
$ 
$ # Recursive directory copy
$ scp -r -i ~/.brev/brev.pem ./my-folder ubuntu@<instance-ip>:/home/ubuntu/

Using Managed SSH Config

After running brev refresh, your SSH config is automatically configured. You can use instance names directly:

$ # Upload using instance name
$ scp ./file.txt my-instance:/home/ubuntu/
$ 
$ # Download using instance name
$ scp my-instance:/home/ubuntu/file.txt ./

Run brev refresh after creating or restarting instances to ensure your SSH config is up to date.

Container vs Host Paths

Brev instances run a container on top of a host machine. Understanding the path mappings is important for file transfers.

Target	Path	Use Case
Host machine	`/home/ubuntu/`	Persistent storage, large datasets
Default container	`/home/ubuntu/workspace/`	Development files, code
Custom container	`/root/workspace/`	Custom Docker images

Default Setup

By default, brev copy targets the container. Files placed in /home/ubuntu/workspace/ inside the container are persisted through restarts.

$ # Copy to container workspace (default)
$ brev copy ./code.py my-instance:/home/ubuntu/workspace/

Copying to Host

Use the --host flag to copy directly to the host machine:

$ # Copy to host machine
$ brev copy --host ./large-dataset.tar.gz my-instance:/home/ubuntu/

When to use host vs container:

Host: Large datasets, files that need to persist outside the container
Container: Code and development files you’re actively working on

Custom Container Paths

If you’re using a custom container image, the workspace may be mounted at a different path:

$ # For custom containers, workspace is typically at /root/
$ brev copy ./file.txt my-instance:/root/workspace/

Check your container’s configuration for the exact mount point.

Common Patterns

Syncing Project Files

Upload your entire project:

$ brev copy -r ./my-ml-project my-instance:/home/ubuntu/workspace/

Downloading Training Results

Retrieve model checkpoints and logs:

$ brev copy -r my-instance:/home/ubuntu/workspace/outputs ./local-outputs

Transferring Large Datasets

For large files, copy to the host for better performance:

$ brev copy --host ./dataset.tar.gz my-instance:/home/ubuntu/data/

Then extract inside the instance:

$ brev shell my-instance
$ tar -xzf /home/ubuntu/data/dataset.tar.gz -C /home/ubuntu/workspace/

Troubleshooting

Permission denied

Ensure you’ve run brev refresh and the instance is running:

$ brev refresh
$ brev ls  # Check instance status

Connection refused

The instance may still be starting. Wait for status to show “Running”:

$ brev ls

Slow transfers

For large files, consider:

Compressing before transfer (tar -czf)
Using rsync for incremental syncs
Transferring to host instead of container

What’s Next

Connectivity

Learn about SSH, port forwarding, and tunnels.

Jupyter Notebooks

Run JupyterLab with GPU acceleration.