CP(1) General Commands Manual CP(1)
NAME
cp, cpdir - file copy
SYNOPSIS
cp [-pifsmrRvx] file1 file2
cp [-pifsrRvx] file ... directory
cpdir [-ifvx] file1 file2
OPTIONS
-p Preserve full mode, uid, gid and times
-i Ask before removing existing file
-f Forced remove existing file
-s Make similar, copy some attributes
-m Merge trees, disable the into-a-directory trick
-r Copy directory trees with link structure, etc. intact
-R Copy directory trees and treat special files as ordinary
-v Display what cp is doing
-x Do not cross device boundaries
EXAMPLES
cp oldfile newfile # Copy oldfile to newfile
cp -R dir1 dir2 # Copy a directory tree
DESCRIPTION
Cp copies one file to another, or copies one or more files to a directory. Special files are normally opened and read, unless -r is used.
-r also copies the link structure, something -R doesn't care about. The -s option differs from -p that it only copies the times if the
target file already exists. A normal copy only copies the mode of the file, with the file creation mask applied. Set-uid bits are cleared
if the owner cannot be set. (The -s flag does not patronize you by clearing bits. Alas -s and -r are nonstandard.)
Cpdir is a convenient synonym for cp -psmr to make a precise copy of a directory tree.
SEE ALSO
cat(1), mkdir(1), rmdir(1), ln(1), rm(1).
CP(1)