Copy one or more files to another location.
Copy SOURCE to DEST, or multiple SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY.
Syntax cp [options]... Source Dest cp [options]... Source... Directory Key -a, --archive same as -dpR -b, --backup Make backup before removal. If the copy will overwrite a file in the destination, then the original file will be backed up as 'filename~' before being overwritten. -d, --no-dereference preserve links -f, --force remove existing destinations, never prompt -i, --interactive prompt before overwrite -l, --link link files instead of copying -p, --preserve preserve file attributes if possible -P, --parents append source path to DIRECTORY -r copy recursively, non-directories as files --sparse=WHEN control creation of sparse files -R, --recursive copy directories recursively -s, --symbolic-link make symbolic links instead of copying -S, --suffix=SUFFIX override the usual backup suffix -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 -V, --version-control=WORD override the usual version control -x, --one-file-system stay on this file system --help display this help and exit --version output version information and exit.
Many users find it useful to set an alias cp="cp -iv" in bashrc, so that progress is always displayed and files do not get overwritten without a confirmation.
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.
The backup suffix is ~, unless set with SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX.
The version control can be set with VERSION_CONTROL, values are:
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.
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.
Copy demofile to demofile.bak :
$ cp demofile demofile.bak
or
$ cp demofile{,.bak}
With variables make sure you quote everything:
$ cp "$SOURCE" "$DEST"
Copy demofile.txt to demofile.bak :
$ FILE="demofile.txt"
$ cp "$FILE" "${FILE%.*}.bak"
Copy floppy to home directory:
$ cp -f /mnt/floppy/* ~
Copy all .jpg files to the CA folder, and for those with "New York" in the filename, replace with "California_"
the "${f/New York/California_}" is an application of bash parameter expansion
$ mkdir CA
$ for f in *.jpg; do cp "$f" "CA/${f/New York/California_}"; done
"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I’ll waste no time reading it" ~ Moses Hadas
dd - Data Duplicator - convert and copy a file (use for RAW storage.)
cpio - Copy files to and from archives.
install - Copy files and set attributes.
mv - Move files.
rsync - Remote file copy (Synchronize file trees).
tar - store or extract files to an archive (allows symbolic links to be copied as links).
Equivalent Windows command: COPY - Copy one or more files to another location.