.\" DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE!  It was generated by help2man 1.49.3.
.TH CP "1" "January 2023" "GNU coreutils 9.1" "User Commands"
.SH NAME
cp \- manual page for cp 9.1
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B cp
[\fI\,OPTION\/\fR]... [\fI\,-T\/\fR] \fI\,SOURCE DEST\/\fR
.br
.B cp
[\fI\,OPTION\/\fR]... \fI\,SOURCE\/\fR... \fI\,DIRECTORY\/\fR
.br
.B cp
[\fI\,OPTION\/\fR]... \fI\,-t DIRECTORY SOURCE\/\fR...
.SH DESCRIPTION
Copy SOURCE to DEST, or multiple SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY.
.PP
Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.
.TP
\fB\-a\fR, \fB\-\-archive\fR
same as \fB\-dR\fR \fB\-\-preserve\fR=\fI\,all\/\fR
.TP
\fB\-\-attributes\-only\fR
don't copy the file data, just the attributes
.TP
\fB\-\-backup\fR[=\fI\,CONTROL\/\fR]
make a backup of each existing destination file
.TP
\fB\-b\fR
like \fB\-\-backup\fR but does not accept an argument
.TP
\fB\-\-copy\-contents\fR
copy contents of special files when recursive
.TP
\fB\-d\fR
same as \fB\-\-no\-dereference\fR \fB\-\-preserve\fR=\fI\,links\/\fR
.TP
\fB\-f\fR, \fB\-\-force\fR
if an existing destination file cannot be
opened, remove it and try again (this option
is ignored when the \fB\-n\fR option is also used)
.TP
\fB\-i\fR, \fB\-\-interactive\fR
prompt before overwrite (overrides a previous \fB\-n\fR
option)
.TP
\fB\-H\fR
follow command\-line symbolic links in SOURCE
.TP
\fB\-l\fR, \fB\-\-link\fR
hard link files instead of copying
.TP
\fB\-L\fR, \fB\-\-dereference\fR
always follow symbolic links in SOURCE
.TP
\fB\-n\fR, \fB\-\-no\-clobber\fR
do not overwrite an existing file (overrides
a previous \fB\-i\fR option)
.TP
\fB\-P\fR, \fB\-\-no\-dereference\fR
never follow symbolic links in SOURCE
.TP
\fB\-p\fR
same as \fB\-\-preserve\fR=\fI\,mode\/\fR,ownership,timestamps
.TP
\fB\-\-preserve\fR[=\fI\,ATTR_LIST\/\fR]
preserve the specified attributes (default:
mode,ownership,timestamps), if possible
additional attributes: context, links, xattr,
all
.TP
\fB\-\-no\-preserve\fR=\fI\,ATTR_LIST\/\fR
don't preserve the specified attributes
.TP
\fB\-\-parents\fR
use full source file name under DIRECTORY
.TP
\fB\-R\fR, \fB\-r\fR, \fB\-\-recursive\fR
copy directories recursively
.TP
\fB\-\-reflink\fR[=\fI\,WHEN\/\fR]
control clone/CoW copies. See below
.TP
\fB\-\-remove\-destination\fR
remove each existing destination file before
attempting to open it (contrast with \fB\-\-force\fR)
.TP
\fB\-\-sparse\fR=\fI\,WHEN\/\fR
control creation of sparse files. See below
.TP
\fB\-\-strip\-trailing\-slashes\fR
remove any trailing slashes from each SOURCE
argument
.TP
\fB\-s\fR, \fB\-\-symbolic\-link\fR
make symbolic links instead of copying
.TP
\fB\-S\fR, \fB\-\-suffix\fR=\fI\,SUFFIX\/\fR
override the usual backup suffix
.TP
\fB\-t\fR, \fB\-\-target\-directory\fR=\fI\,DIRECTORY\/\fR
copy all SOURCE arguments into DIRECTORY
.TP
\fB\-T\fR, \fB\-\-no\-target\-directory\fR
treat DEST as a normal file
.TP
\fB\-u\fR, \fB\-\-update\fR
copy only when the SOURCE file is newer
than the destination file or when the
destination file is missing
.TP
\fB\-v\fR, \fB\-\-verbose\fR
explain what is being done
.TP
\fB\-x\fR, \fB\-\-one\-file\-system\fR
stay on this file system
.TP
\fB\-Z\fR
set SELinux security context of destination
file to default type
.TP
\fB\-\-context\fR[=\fI\,CTX\/\fR]
like \fB\-Z\fR, or if CTX is specified then set the
SELinux or SMACK security context to CTX
.TP
\fB\-\-help\fR
display this help and exit
.TP
\fB\-\-version\fR
output version information and exit
.PP
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 \fB\-\-sparse\fR=\fI\,auto\/\fR.  Specify \fB\-\-sparse\fR=\fI\,always\/\fR to create a sparse DEST
file whenever the SOURCE file contains a long enough sequence of zero bytes.
Use \fB\-\-sparse\fR=\fI\,never\/\fR to inhibit creation of sparse files.
.PP
When \fB\-\-reflink\fR[=\fI\,always\/\fR] is specified, perform a lightweight copy, where the
data blocks are copied only when modified.  If this is not possible the copy
fails, or if \fB\-\-reflink\fR=\fI\,auto\/\fR is specified, fall back to a standard copy.
Use \fB\-\-reflink\fR=\fI\,never\/\fR to ensure a standard copy is performed.
.PP
The backup suffix is '~', unless set with \fB\-\-suffix\fR or SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX.
The version control method may be selected via the \fB\-\-backup\fR option or through
the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable.  Here are the values:
.TP
none, off
never make backups (even if \fB\-\-backup\fR is given)
.TP
numbered, t
make numbered backups
.TP
existing, nil
numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise
.TP
simple, never
always make simple backups
.PP
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.
.PP
GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>
Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/cp>
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) cp invocation'
.SH AUTHOR
Written by Torbjorn Granlund, David MacKenzie, and Jim Meyering.
.SH COPYRIGHT
Copyright \(co 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
.br
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.