A versatile file transfer tool that enables AI agents to copy directories and files from remote Windows, macOS, or Linux systems to a local Mac via SSH and SCP.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install remote-copy
2. Manual Installation
Copy the skill folder to one of these locations
~/.openclaw/skills/ <project>/skills/ Priority: Workspace > Local > Bundled
3. Prompt Installation
Copy this prompt to OpenClaw to install it automatically.
Help me install remote-copy using Clawhub. If Clawhub is not installed, install it first (npm i -g clawhub).
Prefer to download?
Get the raw skill files in a ZIP archive.
What is Remote Copy Skill?
The Remote Copy skill is designed to simplify cross-platform file transfers between your local Mac and remote machines over a network. Whether pulling research datasets from a Linux node, grabbing documentation from another Mac, or migrating system assets from a Windows environment, this tool handles the heavy lifting. It forms a key part of the catalog of Openclaw Skills, enabling AI agents to seamlessly navigate distributed architectures.
What makes this tool exceptionally reliable is its built-in automation. It automatically transforms drive paths across different operating systems, conducts diagnostic checks for connection timeouts, and executes advanced tar pipelines to eliminate encoding issues (such as converting Windows GBK paths into clean UTF-8).
Remote Copy Skill Use Cases
- Transferring large datasets or project folders from a remote Linux server to a local development machine.
- Copying corporate assets from a Windows system with complex file paths and legacy GBK encoding without experiencing corrupted file names.
- Syncing code directories, media folders, or design assets from secondary Mac computers on the local network.
- Retrieving log outputs, backups, or database dumps from remote cloud servers with minimal configuration.
How Remote Copy Skill Works
- Argument Parsing: Extracts the IP address, file path, user credentials, and local destination directory from the user prompt.
- Path Transformation: Detects the host operating system and translates path formats (e.g., turning Windows-style 'F:\company\data' into Unix-friendly '/f/company/data').
- SSH Connectivity Check: Runs a non-blocking diagnostic test with a five-second timeout to verify port and authorization access.
- Adaptive Data Transmission: Deploys standard SCP for lightweight actions, or leverages a piped TAR command with active code-page switching to handle complex directory structures and international character encodings.
- Intelligent Diagnostics: In the event of connection failure, details specific error types (such as connection timeouts or permission errors) and offers remediation actions.
Remote Copy Skill Setup
To unlock this tool and enhance your workflows using Openclaw Skills, configure the host and remote environments using the instructions below.
Host Installation
Install the required session helper for password authentication:
brew install sshpass
Remote Server Configuration
Windows
Run PowerShell as Administrator to install and activate OpenSSH Server:
Get-WindowsCapability -Online | Where-Object Name -like 'OpenSSH*'
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Server~~~~0.0.1.0
Start-Service sshd
Set-Service -Name sshd -StartupType Automatic
New-NetFirewallRule -Name sshd -DisplayName 'OpenSSH Server' -Enabled True -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -Action Allow -LocalPort 22
macOS
Enable Remote Login via the terminal:
sudo systemsetup -setremotelogin on
Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)
Ensure the SSH service is running and the port is open:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install openssh-server -y
sudo systemctl start sshd
sudo systemctl enable sshd
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
Remote Copy Skill Data Schema & Taxonomy
Argument Taxonomy
| Parameter | Required | Default Value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
remote_ip |
Yes | - | Target IP address |
remote_path |
Yes | - | Source path (supports Windows, macOS, Linux structures) |
remote_user |
No | Prompt or vip |
User account for SSH access |
local_dest |
No | ~/remote_data/{ip}/ |
Target directory on local system |
OS Path Translation Patterns
| OS Type | Original Path Example | Translated SSH Path |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | F:\\company\\data |
/f/company/data |
| macOS | /Users/john/projects |
/Users/john/projects |
| Linux | /home/user/dataset |
/home/user/dataset |
When a transfer finishes, a report showing the local landing folder, total size, and copied item count is outputted.
Remote Copy Skill Advanced Features
- Secure Session Authentication: Utilizes
sshpasson-the-fly without permanently saving plain text passwords to disk. - Automated Passwordless Configurations: Streamlines authorization setups by generating and deploying ED25519 keys with
ssh-copy-id. - Large Payload Optimization: Dynamically switches to
rsyncfor volumes larger than 1GB to guarantee transfer resume capability on network drops. - Multi-Path Operations: Allows copying multiple distinct directories or files in a single execution command.
- Local Workspace Integration: Offers an automated trigger to reveal the local storage destination in macOS Finder right after download.
SKILL.md
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