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cp ? copy files and directories |
cp [OPTION]... SOURCE DEST |
Copy SOURCE to DEST, or multiple SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY. |
?a, ??archive |
same as ?dpR |
?b, ??backup[=CONTROL] |
make a backup of each existing destination file |
?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 WARNING: use ?R instead when you might copy special files like FIFOs or /dev/zero |
??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 |
??target?directory=DIRECTORY |
move all SOURCE arguments into DIRECTORY |
?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 |
??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. 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. |
Written by Torbjorn Granlund, David MacKenzie, and Jim Meyering. |
Report bugs to <bug-fileutils@gnu.org>. |
Copyright © 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc. |
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 cp |
should give you access to the complete manual. |