cadaver

Connect to the server , open the root collection

$ cadaver [http://dav.example.com/]

$ cadaver [http://dav.example.com:8022/path/to/collection/]

$ cadaver [https://davs.example.com/]

cadaver [options] [URL]

-d LEVEL, --debug=LEVEL
    Set HTTP debugging output level (0-4)

-h, --help
    Display command summary and exit

-p PASSWD, --pass=PASSWD
    Specify authentication password

--preproxy=[http://]host[:port]
    Preproxy server for HTTP CONNECT

--proxy=[http://]host[:port]
    HTTP proxy server to use

--rcfile=FILE
    Alternate configuration file (~/.cadaverrc)

--search-secret=SECRET
    Search secret for digest authentication

--stdin
    Read file content from standard input

--stdout
    Write file content to standard output

-t PROXY, --tunnel=PROXY
    Proxy tunnel specification

-u USER, --user=USER
    Specify authentication username

--version
    Print version information and exit

Cadaver is a console-based client for the WebDAV protocol, allowing users to interact with remote WebDAV servers much like using ftp for FTP sites. It provides an intuitive interactive shell for browsing directories, uploading/downloading files, managing resources, and executing HTTP methods like PROPFIND, LOCK, and UNLOCK.

Key features include tab completion for commands and paths, bookmarking frequently used servers, support for digest and basic authentication, proxy tunneling, and debugging options. Users connect to a WebDAV URL (e.g., https://example.com/dav/), then use familiar commands such as ls, cd, get, put, mkdir, rm, and quit. It leverages the libneon library for robust HTTP handling, making it ideal for scripting light automation or command-line file management on remote shares.

Cadaver is lightweight, dependency-minimal (requires libneon), and suitable for sysadmins managing CalDAV/CardDAV or enterprise file shares without a GUI.

Passwords on command line are visible in process lists; use interactive prompts instead. Primarily interactive, less suited for heavy scripting. Depends on libneon; may not support all modern TLS ciphers.

Once connected: ls (list remote), lls (list local), cd/lcd (change dir), get/put (transfer), mkdir/rm (manage), lock/unlock (locking), bookmark, quit.

~/.cadaverrc for bookmarks and settings; supports [scheme://realm/] sections with known_hosts.

Developed by Niall Doherty starting in 1999 using libneon. Initial release around 2001; stable version 0.23.3 in 2013. Maintained sporadically, focused on core WebDAV functionality.

curl(1), lftp(1), wget(1), mount.davfs(8)