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CP(1) User Commands CP(1) 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 --debug explain how a file is copied. Implies -v -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 (deprecated) silently skip existing files. See also --update -P, --no-dereference never follow symbolic links in SOURCE -p same as --preserve=mode,ownership,timestamps --preserve[=ATTR_LIST] preserve the specified attributes --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 --update[=UPDATE] control which existing files are updated; UP- DATE={all,none,none-fail,older(default)} -u equivalent to --update[=older]. See below -v, --verbose explain what is being done --keep-directory-symlink follow existing symlinks to directories -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 ATTR_LIST is a comma-separated list of attributes. Attributes are 'mode' for permissions (including any ACL and xattr permissions), 'own- ership' for user and group, 'timestamps' for file timestamps, 'links' for hard links, 'context' for security context, 'xattr' for extended attributes, and 'all' for all attributes. By default, sparse SOURCE files are detected by a crude heuristic and the corresponding DEST file is made sparse as well. That is the behav- ior selected by --sparse=auto. Specify --sparse=always to create a sparse DEST file whenever the SOURCE file contains a long enough se- quence of zero bytes. Use --sparse=never to inhibit creation of sparse files. UPDATE controls which existing files in the destination are replaced. 'all' is the default operation when an --update option is not speci- fied, and results in all existing files in the destination being re- placed. 'none' is like the --no-clobber option, in that no files in the destination are replaced, and skipped files do not induce a fail- ure. 'none-fail' also ensures no files are replaced in the destina- tion, but any skipped files are diagnosed and induce a failure. 'older' is the default operation when --update is specified, and re- sults in files being replaced if they're older than the corresponding source file. 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 stan- dard copy. Use --reflink=never to ensure a standard copy is performed. The backup suffix is '~', unless set with --suffix or SIM- PLE_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. AUTHOR Written by Torbjorn Granlund, David MacKenzie, and Jim Meyering. REPORTING BUGS GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/> Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/> COPYRIGHT Copyright (C) 2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://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 install(1) Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/cp> or available locally via: info '(coreutils) cp invocation' GNU coreutils 9.6 January 2025 CP(1)
NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | AUTHOR | REPORTING BUGS | COPYRIGHT | SEE ALSO
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