NAME
cp —
copy files
SYNOPSIS
cp |
[-R
[-H | -L |
-P]]
[-f | -i]
[-alNpv]
source_file target_file |
cp |
[-R
[-H | -L |
-P]]
[-f | -i]
[-alNpv]
source_file ... target_directory |
DESCRIPTION
In the first synopsis form, the
cp utility copies the contents
of the
source_file to the
target_file. In the second synopsis form, the contents
of each named
source_file is copied to the destination
target_directory. The names of the files themselves are
not changed. If
cp detects an attempt to copy a file to
itself, the copy will fail.
The following options are available:
-
-
- -a
- Archive mode. Same as -RpP.
-
-
- -f
- For each existing destination pathname, attempt to
overwrite it. If permissions do not allow copy to succeed, remove it and
create a new file, without prompting for confirmation. (The
-i option is ignored if the -f option
is specified.)
-
-
- -H
- If the -R option is specified, symbolic
links on the command line are followed. (Symbolic links encountered in the
tree traversal are not followed.)
-
-
- -i
- Causes cp to write a prompt to the
standard error output before copying a file that would overwrite an
existing file. If the response from the standard input begins with the
character ‘
y
’, the file copy is
attempted.
-
-
- -L
- If the -R option is specified, all
symbolic links are followed.
-
-
- -l
- Create hard links to regular files in a hierarchy instead
of copying.
-
-
- -N
- When used with -p, don't copy file
flags.
-
-
- -P
- No symbolic links are followed. This is the default.
-
-
- -p
- Causes cp to preserve in the copy as many
of the modification time, access time, file flags, file mode, user ID,
group ID, and extended attributes, as allowed by permissions.
If the user ID and group ID cannot be preserved, no error message is
displayed and the exit value is not altered.
If the source file has its set user ID bit on and the user ID cannot be
preserved, the set user ID bit is not preserved in the copy's permissions.
If the source file has its set group ID bit on and the group ID cannot be
preserved, the set group ID bit is not preserved in the copy's
permissions. If the source file has both its set user ID and set group ID
bits on, and either the user ID or group ID cannot be preserved, neither
the set user ID or set group ID bits are preserved in the copy's
permissions.
Extended attributes from all accessible namespaces are copied; others are
ignored. If an error occurs during this copy, a message is displayed and
cp skips the other extended attributes for that
file.
-
-
- -R
- If source_file designates a
directory, cp copies the directory and the entire
subtree connected at that point. This option also causes symbolic links to
be copied, rather than followed, and for cp to create
special files rather than copying them as normal files. Created
directories have the same mode as the corresponding source directory,
unmodified by the process's umask.
Note that cp copies hard linked files as separate files.
If you need to preserve hard links, consider using a utility like
pax(1) instead.
-
-
- -v
- Causes cp to be verbose, showing files as
they are copied.
For each destination file that already exists, its contents are overwritten if
permissions allow, but its mode, user ID, and group ID are unchanged.
In the second synopsis form,
target_directory must exist
unless there is only one named
source_file which is a
directory and the
-R flag is specified.
If the destination file does not exist, the mode of the source file is used as
modified by the file mode creation mask (
umask, see
csh(1)). If the source file has its
set user ID bit on, that bit is removed unless both the source file and the
destination file are owned by the same user. If the source file has its set
group ID bit on, that bit is removed unless both the source file and the
destination file are in the same group and the user is a member of that group.
If both the set user ID and set group ID bits are set, all of the above
conditions must be fulfilled or both bits are removed.
Appropriate permissions are required for file creation or overwriting.
Symbolic links are always followed unless the
-R flag is set,
in which case symbolic links are not followed, by default. The
-H or
-L flags (in conjunction with the
-R flag), as well as the
-P flag cause
symbolic links to be followed as described above. The
-H and
-L options are ignored unless the
-R
option is specified. In addition, these options override each other and the
command's actions are determined by the last one specified. The default is as
if the
-P option had been specified.
EXIT STATUS
The
cp utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an
error occurs.
COMPATIBILITY
Historic versions of the
cp utility had a
-r
option. This implementation supports that option, however, its use is strongly
discouraged, as it does not correctly copy special files, symbolic links, or
FIFOs.
SEE ALSO
mv(1),
pax(1),
rcp(1),
umask(2),
fts(3),
symlink(7)
STANDARDS
The
cp utility is expected to be
IEEE Std
1003.2 (“POSIX.2”) compatible.
The
-a and
-l flags are non-standard
extensions. They are intended to be compatible with the same options which
other implementations, namely GNU coreutils and
FreeBSD, of this utility have.
The
-v option is an extension to
IEEE Std
1003.2 (“POSIX.2”).
HISTORY
A
cp utility appeared in
Version 1
AT&T UNIX.