.\" DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE!  It was generated by help2man 1.35.
.TH CP "1" "April 2010" "GNU coreutils 8.5" "User Commands"
.SH NAME
cp \- copy files and directories
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B cp
[\fIOPTION\fR]... [\fI-T\fR] \fISOURCE DEST\fR
.br
.B cp
[\fIOPTION\fR]... \fISOURCE\fR... \fIDIRECTORY\fR
.br
.B cp
[\fIOPTION\fR]... \fI-t DIRECTORY SOURCE\fR...
.SH DESCRIPTION
.\" Add any additional description here
.PP
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=\fIall\fR
.TP
\fB\-\-backup\fR[=\fICONTROL\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=\fIlinks\fR
.TP
\fB\-f\fR, \fB\-\-force\fR
if an existing destination file cannot be
opened, remove it and try again (redundant if
the \fB\-n\fR option is 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
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=\fImode\fR,ownership,timestamps
.TP
\fB\-\-preserve\fR[=\fIATTR_LIST\fR]
preserve the specified attributes (default:
mode,ownership,timestamps), if possible
additional attributes: context, links, xattr,
all
.TP
\fB\-\-no\-preserve\fR=\fIATTR_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[=\fIWHEN\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=\fIWHEN\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=\fISUFFIX\fR
override the usual backup suffix
.TP
\fB\-t\fR, \fB\-\-target\-directory\fR=\fIDIRECTORY\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\-\-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=\fIauto\fR.  Specify \fB\-\-sparse\fR=\fIalways\fR to create a sparse DEST
file whenever the SOURCE file contains a long enough sequence of zero bytes.
Use \fB\-\-sparse\fR=\fInever\fR to inhibit creation of sparse files.
.PP
When \fB\-\-reflink\fR[=\fIalways\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=\fIauto\fR is specified, fall back to a standard copy.
.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.
.SH AUTHOR
Written by Torbjorn Granlund, David MacKenzie, and Jim Meyering.
.SH "REPORTING BUGS"
Report cp bugs to bug\-coreutils@gnu.org
.br
GNU coreutils home page: <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
.br
General help using GNU software: <http://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>
.br
Report cp translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>
.SH COPYRIGHT
Copyright \(co 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://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.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
The full documentation for
.B cp
is maintained as a Texinfo manual.  If the
.B info
and
.B cp
programs are properly installed at your site, the command
.IP
.B info coreutils \(aqcp invocation\(aq
.PP
should give you access to the complete manual.