Manual: rust-cp
CP(1) General Commands Manual CP(1)
NAME
cp - Copy SOURCE to DEST, or multiple SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY.
SYNOPSIS
cp [-t|--target-directory] [-T|--no-target-directory] [-i|--interactive] [-l|--link] [-n|--no-clobber] [-R|--recur‐
sive] [--strip-trailing-slashes] [--debug] [-v|--verbose] [-s|--symbolic-link] [-f|--force] [--remove-destination]
[--backup] [-b ] [-S|--suffix] [--update] [-u ] [--reflink] [--attributes-only] [--preserve] [-p|--preserve-de‐
fault-attributes] [--no-preserve] [--parents] [-P|--no-dereference] [-L|--dereference] [-H ] [-a|--archive] [-d ]
[-x|--one-file-system] [--sparse] [-Z ] [--context] [-g|--progress] [--copy-contents] [-h|--help] [-V|--version]
DESCRIPTION
Copy SOURCE to DEST, or multiple SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY.
OPTIONS
-t, --target-directory
copy all SOURCE arguments into target-directory
-T, --no-target-directory
Treat DEST as a regular file and not a directory
-i, --interactive
ask before overwriting files
-l, --link
hard-link files instead of copying
-n, --no-clobber
don't overwrite a file that already exists
-R, --recursive
copy directories recursively
--strip-trailing-slashes
remove any trailing slashes from each SOURCE argument
--debug
explain how a file is copied. Implies -v
-v, --verbose
explicitly state what is being done
-s, --symbolic-link
make symbolic links instead of copying
-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). Currently not implemented for Windows.
--remove-destination
remove each existing destination file before attempting to open it (contrast with --force). On Windows, cur‐
rently only works for writeable files.
--backup[=]
make a backup of each existing destination file
-b like --backup but does not accept an argument
-S, --suffix
override the usual backup suffix
--update
move only when the SOURCE file is newer than the destination file or when the destination file is missing
Possible values:
• none
• all
• older
• none-fail
-u like --update but does not accept an argument
--reflink[=]
control clone/CoW copies. See below
Possible values:
• auto
• always
• never
--attributes-only
Don't copy the file data, just the attributes
--preserve[=...]
Preserve the specified attributes (default: mode, ownership (unix only), timestamps), if possible additional
attributes: context, links, xattr, all
Possible values:
• mode
• ownership
• timestamps
• context
• links
• xattr
• all
-p, --preserve-default-attributes
same as --preserve=mode,ownership(unix only),timestamps
--no-preserve[=...]
don't preserve the specified attributes
Possible values:
• mode
• ownership
• timestamps
• context
• links
• xattr
• all
--parents
use full source file name under DIRECTORY
-P, --no-dereference
never follow symbolic links in SOURCE
-L, --dereference
always follow symbolic links in SOURCE
-H follow command-line symbolic links in SOURCE
-a, --archive
Same as -dR --preserve=all
-d same as --no-dereference --preserve=links
-x, --one-file-system
stay on this file system
--sparse
control creation of sparse files. See below
Possible values:
• never
• auto
• always
-Z set SELinux security context of destination file to default type
--context[=]
like -Z, or if CTX is specified then set the SELinux or SMACK security context to CTX
-g, --progress
Display a progress bar. Note: this feature is not supported by GNU coreutils.
--copy-contents
NotImplemented: copy contents of special files when recursive
-h, --help
Print help
-V, --version
Print version
EXTRA
Do not copy a non-directory that has an existing destination with the same or newer modification timestamp; instead,
silently skip the file without failing. If timestamps are being preserved, the comparison is to the source timestamp
truncated to the resolutions of the destination file system and of the system calls used to update timestamps; this
avoids duplicate work if several cp -pu commands are executed with the same source and destination. This option is
ignored if the -n or --no-clobber option is also specified. Also, if --preserve=links is also specified (like with cp
-au for example), that will take precedence; consequently, depending on the order that files are processed from the
source, newer files in the destination may be replaced, to mirror hard links in the source. which gives more control
over which existing files in the destination are replaced, and its value can be one of the following:
- all This is the default operation when an --update option is not specified, and results in all existing files in
the destination being replaced. - none This is similar to the --no-clobber option, in that no files in the destina‐
tion are replaced, but also skipping a file does not induce a failure. - older This is the default operation when
--update is specified, and results in files being replaced if they're older than the corresponding source file.
The backup suffix is '~', unless set with --suffix or SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX. The version control method may be se‐
lected 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
VERSION
v(uutils coreutils) 0.8.0
2026-04-16 CP(1)