Plugin: add support for [XYZ]MODEM file transfers

[hijkzzz]

refer to the title

[hijkzzz]

@zadjii-msft
I mean it needs to support sz rz like xshell.

[hijkzzz]

@zadjii-msft
I mean it needs to support sz rz like xshell.

[xmm1989218]

@zadjii-msft windows terminal should support sz/rz protocol and popout dialog box, I can't reopen this issue, please reopen it, it is very useful feature.

[qin-nz]

@zadjii-msft I think rz sz is a feature for terminal not shell (e.g. WSL).
rz sz is a program running on server, and also require terminal to support it.
In macOS, iTerm2 implement it instead of bash or zsh.
Please tell us where to request that feature.

[zadjii-msft]

So I still don't know why the terminal would need to add support for lszrz directly. Seems to me like the lszrz package should be the one to display the file picker on windows itself, and it's not the responsibility of the terminal to display that picker. I'm not sure why a terminal window needs to get involved in the implementation of a commandline application like this.

Maybe I don't understand how sz rz works? If someone can explain why I'm wrong, I'll be happy to re-open and investigate. But this just sounds like an application that needs to be ported to Windows on it's own, and the terminal doesn't need to ship with itself.

[qin-nz]

@zadjii-msft
As a user, I don't really know what happens.

If I want to send a file from server to laptop,
I just run sz -be filename on linux (via Terminal, via shell, via ssh). This means I need to install lszrz on server.
And something should let me select where to put it, then receive and save it on my laptop.

Other Terminal do this, so I think Windows Terminal should do it too.
e.g. iTerm2 on macOS, SecureCRT / XShell on Windows

[qin-nz]

@zadjii-msft
lszrz don't display the file picker on window.
Instead, people are required to run sz/rz on both sides.
This post show what should people do without using a terminal. And this really hard to do for users.

Terminal should support lszrz (and lszrz is required to be installed on PC).
Terminal is ONLY a UI of lszrz.

[qin-nz]

@zadjii-msft

Seems to me like the lszrz package should be the one to display the file picker on windows itself

lszrz is backgroud program, it can't dispaly the file picker. Something(e.g. Terminal) should find a place and run sz/rz command on laptop.

and it's not the responsibility of the terminal to display that picker.

So do you think user should be responsibility to display that picker?
ALL OTHER TERMINALS DO! (out of box or need some configure.)

[DHowett-MSFT]

I'm reopening this one and putting it on the infinite backlog.

@qin-nz: We're not going to do this ourselves, but it is a valuable feature and it would be good to think about it when plugin support is written (#555)

@zadjii-msft: This is a weird/interesting thing. lszrz is a package that implements the [XYZ]MODEM set of protocols, and is typically used for transferring files over serial connections to remote machines. The deal, though, is that that data must either be multiplexed-with or totally replace the tty stream. It's the terminal emulator's job to stop sending user input and waiting for connection output and instead send encoded file data packets and wait for ACKs (or the other way around.)

lszrz only includes the client portions that "send a file to the terminal" or "receive a file from the terminal," and the terminal needs to be complicit.

[zadjii-msft]

Oh my god, that's insane. Well yea of course I didn't understand that, that's a totally different style of application than anything I've ever heard of before. I'd think there would be a better way of doing this, such that the Terminal application didn't have to be directly involved in this process (maybe using a pty or something) but hey if that's how it works, that's how it works.

Sounds like a perfect extension scenario.

[zadjii-msft]

Nope. We'll make sure to update this thread when there is. In the meantime, might I recommend the Subscribe button?

That way you'll be notified of any updates to this thread, without needlessly pinging everyone on this thread ☺️

[esonic]

I developed a ssh command line tool to support sz/rz for Windows Terminal in WSL.

When rz/sz command is found, it will call OpenFileDialog/FolderBrowserDialog through a powershell script, and then pass the file path to rz/sz to finish upload or download.

I hope it helps somehow.

https://github.com/esonic/sshz

[qingyunha]

Hello, I made a ssh wrapper to support rz and sz. I hope you find it useful.

https://github.com/qingyunha/zssh

[hereTac]

If u need.
Using rz/sz to transfer files

[Spinestars]

If u need. Using rz/sz to transfer files

Security Fortress servers don't seem to work very well when they exist

[Zxis233]

Yeah, the feature is too useful to transfer my file! Hope to see it soon in WT!

[ravn]

The reason that the request for zmodem support comes for the Terminal application, is because the Zmodem protocol is designed to use a very characteristic character sequence for handshaking between the two ends, which is designed to be easy to recognize for the terminal emulator and start the zmodem client locally on the character stream handled by the terminal app.

It is very useful for situations where you cannot create a direct TCP/IP connection from/to a given network host but you have a serial/telnet connection to the host.

[Ethan-devops]

This problem has not been resolved for so long, I think it is not a technical problem, but a management problem, who can come forward to coordinate and resolve this matter?

[DHowett]

Whether it's "management" or "technical" isn't really up for debate. This feature request is the perfect combination of (1) not important enough to prioritize ahead of other work and (2) already handled better by other software. WT isn't yet intended to be the best--say--serial terminal. It works for that, sure, but it's missing some important things that would make it the best... such as x/y/zmodem support. But it's also missing more basic things like actually opening a serial port as an endpoint.

This is a popular community request, but it is by no means the most popular one. Once we're through with the more important foundational ones, we'll be better equipped to tackle this one.

For now, I'm going to lock the thread. It's been open for a while and the new replies haven't really cleared up the specific requirements for data exchange protocols here, so it'll serve the community better as an upvote aggregator rather than an open-ended discussion about how we just don't have it yet. 😄

(Edited after the fact to add!)
This is one place where we would really benefit from community contribution! Terminal could be the best serial terminal on Windows, but we're too far off the mark there. I would love to understand the use cases and the needs over in the Discussions section 😄 it's just not appropriate to have this discussion on a thread with 39+ participants and an untold number of subscribers.

[lonnywong]

For anyone stuck on using lrzsz ( rz / sz ) in Windows Terminal #1999. You can try trzsz ( trz / tsz ).

It is recommended to use trzsz-ssh ( tssh ):

# Install trzsz-ssh ( tssh ) in Windows Terminal
scoop install tssh / winget install tssh / choco install tssh

# Log in to the remote server using tssh. It works similar to ssh.
tssh remote_server

# Install trzsz-go on the remote server. Please check https://trzsz.github.io/go
yay -S trzsz / sudo apt install trzsz / sudo yum install trzsz / etc...

# Upload files like rz
trz

# Upload directories
trz -r

# Download files like sz
tsz file
tsz /path/to/file

# Download directories
tsz -r dir
tsz -r /path/to/dir

trzsz-ssh ( tssh ) v0.1.15 supports zmodem lrzsz ( rz / sz ):

# Install trzsz-ssh ( tssh ) in Windows Terminal
scoop install tssh / winget install tssh / choco install tssh

# Install lrzsz ( rz / sz ) on local Windows, or download from https://github.com/trzsz/lrzsz-win32/releases and add it to PATH
scoop install lrzsz / choco install lrzsz

# `tssh -V` should show "trzsz ssh 0.1.15"
tssh -V

# Add the following configuration to C:\Users\xxx\.ssh\config
Host *
    #!! EnableZmodem Yes

# Log in to the remote server using tssh. It works similar to ssh.
tssh remote_server

# Now you can use rz / sz
rz
sz xxx