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Restoring a directory using cpio command?

 
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# 1  
Old 04-04-2004
Restoring a directory using cpio command?
I am confused with how to restore archives. I just figured out the use of tar, but now after trying it with cpio, I'm unsure of some things. Firstly, is it necessary to cd to the directory you will be restoring to in order to run this command?
Secondly, what is it I'm doing wrong when trying to restore an archive into an empty directory?

$ cpio -ivdu backup.cpio < cpio-restore

backup.cpio is a file and cpio-restore is a directory

I am getting the following error:

cpio: read error: Is a directory

Thank you
# 2  
Old 04-04-2004
cpio is perhaps bemusingly complex when you're first figuring out how to use it.

According to the syntax you've used there, you're trying to make the shell supply the directory to cpio as an input on stdin.

You might try:

cat backup.cpio | cpio -iumd .

This should pipe in the cpio file to cpio which accepts it as an input ( -i ) and reconstructs the file contents in the "." (the current directory). A word of warning though, always make cpio archives with _relative_ paths, not absolute ones or you're asking for trouble.
# 3  
Old 04-04-2004
Thanks for the info nitrile. Believe it or not, I had just figured that out for myself, and I was just coming back here to tell everyone never mind.

Thanks again!
 
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