.\" DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE!  It was generated by help2man 1.33.
.TH CP "1" "March 2004" "cp (coreutils) 5.2.1" "User Commands"
.SH NAME
cp \- copy files and directories
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B cp
[\fIOPTION\fR]... \fISOURCE DEST\fR
.br
.B cp
[\fIOPTION\fR]... \fISOURCE\fR... \fIDIRECTORY\fR
.br
.B cp
[\fIOPTION\fR]... \fI--target-directory=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\-dpR\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=\fIlink\fR
.TP
\fB\-\-no\-dereference\fR
never follow symbolic links
.TP
\fB\-f\fR, \fB\-\-force\fR
if an existing destination file cannot be
opened, remove it and try again
.TP
\fB\-i\fR, \fB\-\-interactive\fR
prompt before overwrite
.TP
\fB\-H\fR
follow command-line symbolic links
.TP
\fB\-l\fR, \fB\-\-link\fR
link files instead of copying
.TP
\fB\-L\fR, \fB\-\-dereference\fR
always follow symbolic links
.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: links, all
.TP
\fB\-\-no\-preserve\fR=\fIATTR_LIST\fR
don't preserve the specified attributes
.TP
\fB\-\-parents\fR
append source path to DIRECTORY
.TP
\fB\-P\fR
same as `--no-dereference'
.TP
\fB\-R\fR, \fB\-r\fR, \fB\-\-recursive\fR
copy directories recursively
.TP
\fB\-\-remove\-destination\fR
remove each existing destination file before
attempting to open it (contrast with \fB\-\-force\fR)
.TP
\fB\-\-reply=\fR{yes,no,query}
specify how to handle the prompt about an
existing destination file
.TP
\fB\-\-sparse\fR=\fIWHEN\fR
control creation of sparse files
.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\-\-target\-directory\fR=\fIDIRECTORY\fR
move all SOURCE arguments into DIRECTORY
.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
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 bugs to .
.SH COPYRIGHT
Copyright \(co 2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
.br
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
.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 cp
.PP
should give you access to the complete manual.

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