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cp — Copy files and directories. More information: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_no

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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Problem

How to use the cp command: Copy files and directories. More information: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/cp-invocation.html>.

Solution

cp — Copy files and directories. More information: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/cp-invocation.html>.

Copy a file to another location:

cp {{path/to/source_file}} {{path/to/target_file}}

Copy a file into another directory, keeping the filename:

cp {{path/to/source_file}} {{path/to/target_parent_directory}}

Recursively copy a directory's contents to another location (if the destination exists, the directory is copied inside it):

cp {{[-r|--recursive]}} {{path/to/source_directory}} {{path/to/target_directory}}

Copy a directory recursively, in verbose mode (shows files as they are copied):

cp {{[-vr|--verbose --recursive]}} {{path/to/source_directory}} {{path/to/target_directory}}

Copy multiple files at once to a directory:

cp {{[-t|--target-directory]}} {{path/to/destination_directory}} {{path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...}}

Copy all files with a specific extension to another location, in interactive mode (prompts user before overwriting):

cp {{[-i|--interactive]}} {{*.ext}} {{path/to/target_directory}}

Follow symbolic links before copying:

cp {{[-L|--dereference]}} {{link}} {{path/to/target_directory}}

Use the full path of source files, creating any missing intermediate directories when copying:

cp --parents {{source/path/to/file}} {{path/to/target_file}}

Code Snippets

Copy a file to another location

cp {{path/to/source_file}} {{path/to/target_file}}

Copy a file into another directory, keeping the filename

cp {{path/to/source_file}} {{path/to/target_parent_directory}}

Recursively copy a directory's contents to another location (if the destination exists, the directory is copied inside it)

cp {{[-r|--recursive]}} {{path/to/source_directory}} {{path/to/target_directory}}

Copy a directory recursively, in verbose mode (shows files as they are copied)

cp {{[-vr|--verbose --recursive]}} {{path/to/source_directory}} {{path/to/target_directory}}

Copy multiple files at once to a directory

cp {{[-t|--target-directory]}} {{path/to/destination_directory}} {{path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...}}

Context

tldr-pages: common/cp

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