aft-mtp-cli
interactive MTP client for Android phones and other USB media devices
TLDR
SYNOPSIS
aft-mtp-cli [options] [command...]
DESCRIPTION
aft-mtp-cli is the command-line client from Android File Transfer for Linux, a from-scratch MTP implementation that talks to Android phones, cameras, Zune players, and other USB media devices without libmtp or libptp.It opens a session on the first matching device, selects the first storage, and either runs the given commands or starts an interactive prompt with GNU Readline completion. Transfers show a progress bar when stdout is a terminal. The same project also ships a Qt GUI and aft-mtp-mount (FUSE); the CLI is typically faster and more reliable for bulk copies than the FUSE mount.
PARAMETERS
-h, --help
Show this help and exit.-v, --verbose
Show debug output.-i, --interactive
Force interactive mode even when stdin is not a terminal.-b, --batch
Batch command processing (no prompt). Combined with leftover arguments, each argument is run as one command.-e, --events
Allow MTP event processing and print `:done` after each command.-f, --input-file file
Read commands from file instead of stdin (implies batch mode).-C, --no-claim
Do not claim the USB interface.-R, --reset-device
Reset the USB device before connecting.-d, --device-name name
Select a device by partial name (model, manufacturer, or filesystem-friendly name).-l, --device-list
List matching MTP devices and exit.-V, --version
Show version information and exit.
INTERACTIVE COMMANDS
When stdin is a terminal (or -i is given) and no command arguments remain, aft-mtp-cli opens an FTP-like prompt. Type help to list every command. The most useful ones:ls [path], ls-r, lsext
List the current or given directory. -r is recursive; lsext adds object id, storage, format, size, and date.cd path, pwd
Change or print the current object directory.put file [dir], get file [dst]
Upload a local file (or directory) / download a device object. get of a folder copies it recursively.mkdir path, mkpath path, rename path new-name, rm path
Create directories, rename, or delete. rm is recursive.storage name, storage-list, storage-info id
Switch among device storages (internal memory, SD card) and print capacity.device-info, device-properties
Print identity and MTP device properties.cat file
Print a device file to stdout.flash file
Send a file as firmware (`UndefinedFirmware`). Used for Zune recovery.exit, quit
Leave the session.Commands can also be passed as arguments: `aft-mtp-cli ls DCIM` runs ls on `DCIM` and exits.
INSTALL
CAVEATS
The device must be unlocked and in MTP (or PTP) mode; a charging-only USB mode or a locked screen produces "device not found" or `InvalidStorageID`. Only one process may talk to an MTP device at a time, so unmount aft-mtp-mount / jmtpfs first. rm deletes recursively with no confirmation. Samsung devices that dropped Android MTP extensions can behave poorly. USB timeouts can leave the phone unresponsive until it is replugged. flash and device-reboot are for Zune-class firmware recovery, not Android phones.
HISTORY
Android File Transfer for Linux was written by Vladimir Menshakov starting in 2015 (LGPLv2.1) as a Linux counterpart to Google's macOS Android File Transfer, after gvfs/libmtp clients proved unreliable. The CLI, FUSE helper, and Qt UI share the same MTP stack.
SEE ALSO
jmtpfs(1), simple-mtpfs(1), gio(1), gvfs-mount(1), fusermount(1)
