Unix Copy Command Examples [ cp command ]

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Unix: cp command syntax

The syntax is:

cp SOURCE DEST
cp SOURCE DIRECTORY
cp file1 file2
cp file1 new-file2
cp [options] file1 new-file2

By default cp will only copies files.

Unix cp command examples

In this example, copy a file called data.txt in the current directory into another directory, called /tmp. Open a terminal and type:

cp data.txt /tmp

Verify that file has been copied in /tmp, enter:

ls -l /tmp/data.txt
ls -l data.txt

Please note that the file(s) copied into the directory /tmp will all have the same names as the originals. You can copy multiple files into another directory as follows:

cp data.txt foo.tbz image.png /tmp
ls -l /tmp

How do I copy recursively?

You need to pass the -r or -R option (i.e., recursive option). It allows directories including all of their contents to be copied:

cp -r dir1 dir2

To see copy progress pass -v option to cp command:

cp -v file1 file2

Sample outputs:

`file1' -> `file2'

The -v cause cp to be verbose, showing files as they are copied. You can pass the -v option along with other options:

cp -v -r file1 /tmp
cp -v -r dir1 dir2

How do I copy all *.c files?

Copy copy all c source code file to a directory called /projects/backup/foo, from /home/vivek/devel/foo, enter:

cp /home/vivek/devel/foo/*.c /projects/backup/foo/

OR

cp -v /home/vivek/devel/foo/*.c /projects/backup/foo/

All the files in a directory can be copied to another directory by using the shell wildcard such as start willdcard or question wild card:

## copy all perl (*.pl) files to /tmp ##
cp *.pl /tmp
 
## copy all perl (*.pl) files starting with character a to /tmp ##
cp a*.pl /tmp
 
## copy all perl (*.pl) files starting with a,b, and c to /tmp ##
cp [abc]*.pl /tmp
 
## copy all perl (*.pl) files starting with a single file name such as  a.pl, b.pl, .., z.pl to /tmp ##
cp ?.pl /tmp
 
## copy all .html files to /var/www/html ##
## The star wildcard represents anything whose name ends with the .html extension ##
cp -v /home/vivek/website/*.html /var/www/html

How do I confirm file overwriting?

You need to pass the -i option to cp. It will prompt the user if file already existing in a destination directory so that file would be overwritten with confirmation:

cp -i /etc/resolv.conf /tmp

Sample outputs:

cp: overwrite `/tmp/resolv.conf'? y

You need to enter the letter y (both lower case or upper case with work) in response to the prompt causes the command to continue. Any other answer prevents the command from overwriting the file called /tmp/resolv.conf. Some user put the following alias in ksh startup file called $HOME/.kshrc:
$ vi ~/.kshrc
Append the following alias:

## prvent overwriting by default for cp command
alias cp='cp -i'

Save and close the file. Source the shell startup file to have the changes take immediate effect, enter:

. .kshrc

Tip: Preserve the file permission and other attributes

You need to pass the -p option to save the following file attributes of each source file as allowed by permissions:

1. File modification time
2. File access time
3. File flags
4. File mode
5. File user ID and group ID

The syntax is:

cp -p file1 file2

Example: Copying a file without -p option

Type the following commands:

ls -l /etc/resolv.conf
cp /etc/resolv.conf $HOME
ls -l $HOME

Sample outputs:

Fig.01: Unix cp command without -p option

Example: Copying a file with -p option to save file attributes

Type the following commands:

ls -l /etc/resolv.conf
## Note: running as root to save attributes ##
sudo cp -p -v /etc/resolv.conf $HOME
ls -l $HOME

Sample outputs:

Fig.02: Preserve in the copy as many of the modification time, access time, file flags, file mode, user ID, and group ID as allowed by permissions.