@geer: So you can copy it, if you fill it from the other side. That's the very reason for named pipes existence. It's an API that behaves as a file (so it can be used with any tool that can work with files – such as WinSCP), yet its contents can be generated on the fly.

Anyway, can you post Debug 2 level session log file with directory listing containing the pipe? So we can check what information that your server provide that can be used to identify it as a pipe?

You can't copy a named pipe, because it's no normal file! It's empty as long as you don't fill it from the second side. A named pipe is marked with a special file flag (in Linux), so it should be excluded automatically!

@bheinsius: You can use an exclude mask to exclude all interfering named pipes.
https://winscp.net/eng/docs/ui_transfer_custom

I run into this problem too. it is a problem for me because I copy a folder containing hundreds of subfolders that contain thousands of files, and the complete copy stops whenever it encounters a named pipe. Only workaround for me is to copy file-by-file.

WinSCP gives the following dialog window:

Host is not communicating for more that 15 seconds. Still waiting...
Warning: Aborting this operation will close connection!
[Abort] [Help]

this is WinSCP Version 4.3.8 (Build 1771)
Copying files from ubuntu 11.04 to Windows Vista.
New/updated files only in background transfer.

It's not that I want to copy pipes! When I try to copy a dir with hundred files and there is a pipe in it it just stops and you don't know why. A popup "Warning! Cannot copy a named pipe!" woud be great.

WinSCP does what you ask it to do. It may be perfectly reasonable to copy named pipe.

Hello,
here is one bug or feature I found. When I am trying to copy a small directory from i.e. Linux to Windows, and there is a named pipe in it (mknod name p), WinSCP stops there and freezes or there comes a "Host is not communicaing for more thant 15 seconds" popup. When deleting that FIFO everything works. Maybe you can implement some check for ugly filetypes.

• WinSCP Version 4.2.7 or older
  
• Win XP SP3
  
• SFTP-3 protocol
  
• Manual copy, GUI, F5 key
  
• Steps to reproduce: mkdir /tmp/aaa;cd /tmp/aaa;touch a b c x y z; mknod d pipe; then try to copy that dir aaa to your PC.
  

Greetings,
Axel