This directory of Linux commands is from Linux in a Nutshell, 5th Edition.
Click on any of the 687 commands below to get a description and list of available options. All links in the command summaries point to the online version of the book on Safari Bookshelf.
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cp
cp [options] file1 file2 cp [options] files directory
Copy file1 to file2, or copy one or more files to the same names under directory. If the destination is an existing file, the file is overwritten; if the destination is an existing directory, the file is copied into the directory (the directory is not overwritten).
Options
Preserve attributes of original files where possible. The same as -dpr.
Back up files that would otherwise be overwritten.
Do not dereference symbolic links; preserve hard-link relationships between source and copy.
Remove existing files in the destination.
Prompt before overwriting destination files. On most systems, this flag is turned off by default except for the root user, who is normally prompted before overwriting files.
Make hard links, not copies, of nondirectories.
Preserve all information, including owner, group, permissions, and timestamps.
Preserve intermediate directories in source. The last argument must be the name of an existing directory. For example, the command:
cp --parents jphekman/book/ch1 newdir
copies the file jphekman/book/ch1 to the file newdir/jphekman/book/ch1, creating intermediate directories as necessary.
Copy directories recursively.
Set suffix to be appended to backup files. This may also be set with the SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX environment variable. The default is ~. You need to explicitly include a period if you want one before the suffix (for example, specify .bak, not bak).
Make symbolic links instead of copying. Source filenames must be absolute.
Handle files that have "holes" (are defined as a certain size but have less data). always creates a sparse file, auto creates one if the input file is sparse, and never creates a non-sparse file without holes.
Do not copy a file to an existing destination with the same or newer modification time.
Before copying, print the name of each file.
Set the type of backups made. You may also use the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable. The default is existing. Valid arguments are:
t, numbered Always make numbered backups.
nil, existing Make numbered backups of files that already have them; otherwise, make simple backups.
never, simple Always make simple backups.
-x, --one-file-system Ignore subdirectories on other filesystems.
Example
Copy the contents of the guest directory recursively into the /archives/guest/ directory, and display a message for each file copied:
cd /archives && cp -av /home/guest guest
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