CP man page on Archlinux

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CP(1)				 User Commands				 CP(1)

NAME
       cp - copy files and directories

SYNOPSIS
       cp [OPTION]... [-T] SOURCE DEST
       cp [OPTION]... SOURCE... DIRECTORY
       cp [OPTION]... -t DIRECTORY SOURCE...

DESCRIPTION
       Copy SOURCE to DEST, or multiple SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY.

       Mandatory  arguments  to	 long  options are mandatory for short options
       too.

       -a, --archive
	      same as -dR --preserve=all

       --attributes-only
	      don't copy the file data, just the attributes

       --backup[=CONTROL]
	      make a backup of each existing destination file

       -b     like --backup but does not accept an argument

       --copy-contents
	      copy contents of special files when recursive

       -d     same as --no-dereference --preserve=links

       -f, --force
	      if an existing destination file cannot be opened, remove it  and
	      try  again  (this	 option	 is ignored when the -n option is also
	      used)

       -i, --interactive
	      prompt before overwrite (overrides a previous -n option)

       -H     follow command-line symbolic links in SOURCE

       -l, --link
	      hard link files instead of copying

       -L, --dereference
	      always follow symbolic links in SOURCE

       -n, --no-clobber
	      do not overwrite an  existing  file  (overrides  a  previous  -i
	      option)

       -P, --no-dereference
	      never follow symbolic links in SOURCE

       -p     same as --preserve=mode,ownership,timestamps

       --preserve[=ATTR_LIST]
	      preserve the specified attributes (default: mode,ownership,time‐
	      stamps), if  possible  additional	 attributes:  context,	links,
	      xattr, all

       --no-preserve=ATTR_LIST
	      don't preserve the specified attributes

       --parents
	      use full source file name under DIRECTORY

       -R, -r, --recursive
	      copy directories recursively

       --reflink[=WHEN]
	      control clone/CoW copies. See below

       --remove-destination
	      remove  each existing destination file before attempting to open
	      it (contrast with --force)

       --sparse=WHEN
	      control creation of sparse files. See below

       --strip-trailing-slashes
	      remove any trailing slashes from each SOURCE argument

       -s, --symbolic-link
	      make symbolic links instead of copying

       -S, --suffix=SUFFIX
	      override the usual backup suffix

       -t, --target-directory=DIRECTORY
	      copy all SOURCE arguments into DIRECTORY

       -T, --no-target-directory
	      treat DEST as a normal file

       -u, --update
	      copy only when the SOURCE file is	 newer	than  the  destination
	      file or when the destination file is missing

       -v, --verbose
	      explain what is being done

       -x, --one-file-system
	      stay on this file system

       -Z, --context[=CTX]
	      set  SELinux  security  context  of  destination file to default
	      type, or to CTX if specified

       --help display this help and exit

       --version
	      output version information and exit

       By default, sparse SOURCE files are detected by a crude	heuristic  and
       the corresponding DEST file is made sparse as well.  That is the behav‐
       ior selected by --sparse=auto.  Specify	--sparse=always	 to  create  a
       sparse  DEST  file  whenever  the  SOURCE  file	contains a long enough
       sequence of zero bytes.	Use  --sparse=never  to	 inhibit  creation  of
       sparse files.

       When --reflink[=always] 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 --reflink=auto is specified, fall back to a stan‐
       dard copy.

       The  backup  suffix  is	'~',  unless  set  with	  --suffix   or	  SIM‐
       PLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX.   The version control method may be selected via the
       --backup option or through the  VERSION_CONTROL	environment  variable.
       Here are the values:

       none, off
	      never make backups (even if --backup is given)

       numbered, t
	      make numbered backups

       existing, nil
	      numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise

       simple, never
	      always make simple backups

       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.

       GNU  coreutils  online  help:  <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
       Report cp translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>

AUTHOR
       Written by Torbjorn Granlund, David MacKenzie, and Jim Meyering.

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright © 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.	 License  GPLv3+:  GNU
       GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
       This  is	 free  software:  you  are free to change and redistribute it.
       There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

SEE ALSO
       The full documentation for cp is maintained as a	 Texinfo  manual.   If
       the  info and cp programs are properly installed at your site, the com‐
       mand

	      info coreutils 'cp invocation'

       should give you access to the complete manual.

GNU coreutils 8.22		  April 2014				 CP(1)
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