CP
Home ›
Software ›
Manual Pages ›
CP
Section: User Commands (1)
Updated: November 2018
Index
Return to Main Contents
NAME
cp - copy files and directories
SYNOPSIS
cp
[OPTION]... [-T] SOURCE DEST
cp
[OPTION]... SOURCE... DIRECTORY
cp
[OPTION]... -t DIRECTORY SOURCE...
DESCRIPTION
Copy SOURCE to DEST, or multiple SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY.
Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.
- -a, --archive
-
same as -dR --preserve=all
- --attributes-only
-
don't copy the file data, just the attributes
- --backup[=CONTROL]
-
make a backup of each existing destination file
- -b
-
like --backup but does not accept an argument
- --copy-contents
-
copy contents of special files when recursive
- -d
-
same as --no-dereference --preserve=links
- -f, --force
-
if an existing destination file cannot be
opened, remove it and try again (this option
is ignored when the -n option is also used)
- -i, --interactive
-
prompt before overwrite (overrides a previous -n
option)
- -H
-
follow command-line symbolic links in SOURCE
- -l, --link
-
hard link files instead of copying
- -L, --dereference
-
always follow symbolic links in SOURCE
- -n, --no-clobber
-
do not overwrite an existing file (overrides
a previous -i option)
- -P, --no-dereference
-
never follow symbolic links in SOURCE
- -p
-
same as --preserve=mode,ownership,timestamps
- --preserve[=ATTR_LIST]
-
preserve the specified attributes (default:
mode,ownership,timestamps), if possible
additional attributes: context, links, xattr,
all
- -c
-
deprecated, same as --preserve=context
- --no-preserve=ATTR_LIST
-
don't preserve the specified attributes
- --parents
-
use full source file name under DIRECTORY
- -R, -r, --recursive
-
copy directories recursively
- --reflink[=WHEN]
-
control clone/CoW copies. See below
- --remove-destination
-
remove each existing destination file before
attempting to open it (contrast with --force)
- --sparse=WHEN
-
control creation of sparse files. See below
- --strip-trailing-slashes
-
remove any trailing slashes from each SOURCE
argument
- -s, --symbolic-link
-
make symbolic links instead of copying
- -S, --suffix=SUFFIX
-
override the usual backup suffix
- -t, --target-directory=DIRECTORY
-
copy all SOURCE arguments into DIRECTORY
- -T, --no-target-directory
-
treat DEST as a normal file
- -u, --update
-
copy only when the SOURCE file is newer
than the destination file or when the
destination file is missing
- -v, --verbose
-
explain what is being done
- -x, --one-file-system
-
stay on this file system
- -Z
-
set SELinux security context of destination
file to default type
- --context[=CTX]
-
like -Z, or if CTX is specified then set the
SELinux or SMACK security context to CTX
- --help
-
display this help and exit
- --version
-
output version information and exit
By default, sparse SOURCE files are detected by a crude heuristic and the
corresponding DEST file is made sparse as well. That is the behavior
selected by --sparse=auto. Specify --sparse=always to create a sparse DEST
file whenever the SOURCE file contains a long enough sequence of zero bytes.
Use --sparse=never to inhibit creation of sparse files.
When --reflink[=always] is specified, perform a lightweight copy, where the
data blocks are copied only when modified. If this is not possible the copy
fails, or if --reflink=auto is specified, fall back to a standard copy.
The backup suffix is '~', unless set with --suffix or SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX.
The version control method may be selected via the --backup option or through
the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable. Here are the values:
- none, off
-
never make backups (even if --backup is given)
- numbered, t
-
make numbered backups
- existing, nil
-
numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise
- simple, never
-
always make simple backups
As a special case, cp makes a backup of SOURCE when the force and backup
options are given and SOURCE and DEST are the same name for an existing,
regular file.
GNU coreutils online help: <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
Report cp translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>
AUTHOR
Written by Torbjorn Granlund, David MacKenzie, and Jim Meyering.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
SEE ALSO
The full documentation for
cp
is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the
info
and
cp
programs are properly installed at your site, the command
-
info coreutils aqcp invocationaq
should give you access to the complete manual.
Index
- NAME
-
- SYNOPSIS
-
- DESCRIPTION
-
- AUTHOR
-
- COPYRIGHT
-
- SEE ALSO
-
This document was created by
man2html,
using the manual pages.
Time: 17:58:08 GMT, February 20, 2019