cp

Copy a file or a folder

What it does

cp copies a file: what first, then where. If the second argument is an existing folder, the copy goes into it under the same name; otherwise you get a file with the new name.

Folders are copied only with -r, recursively with everything inside. Without it cp refuses and says it is a directory.

Careful. If a file with that name exists, cp silently overwrites it. -i asks before overwriting.

Syntax

cp <file> <destination>
cp -r <folder> <destination>

Examples

• Copy config.json to config.backup.json

  cp config.json config.backup.json

  • cp — copy
  • config.json — what to copy
  • config.backup.json — where to

• Copy the assets folder with everything in it to backup

  cp -r assets backup

  same as: cp -R assets backup, cp --recursive assets backup

  • cp — copy
  • -r — recursively, with contents
  • assets backup — from → to

Related commands

• mv — Move or rename a file
• rm — Delete files and folders
• mkdir — Create a folder

Practise · All commands