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cp(1)									 cp(1)

NAME
       cp - Copies files

SYNOPSIS
       cp [-fhip] [--] source_file destination_file

       cp [-fhip] [--] source_file... destination_directory

       cp [-fhip] [-r  | -R] [--] [source_file | source_directory]... destina‐
       tion_directory

       The cp command copies a source file or the files in a source  directory
       to  a destination file or directory. If your source and destination are
       directories, the source is copied to the destination and	 created  with
       the same name.

STANDARDS
       Interfaces  documented on this reference page conform to industry stan‐
       dards as follows:

       cp:  XCU5.0

       Refer to the standards(5) reference page	 for  more  information	 about
       industry standards and associated tags.

OPTIONS
       [Tru64  UNIX]  The cp command does not prompt you when an existing file
       is to be overwritten. If both -f and -i are specified  on  the  command
       line  (for  example,  because an alias includes one of them), whichever
       appears last overrides the other.

	      If the environment variable STDS_FLAG is	set  to	 ALL,  the  -f
	      option  will  not	 disable  a previously set -i option, and vice
	      versa.  [Tru64 UNIX]  Together with the -R option, the  same  as
	      the  -r  option.	Prompts you with the name of the file whenever
	      the copy would cause an existing file  to	 be  overwritten.   An
	      answer beginning with y, or the locale's equivalent of y, causes
	      cp to continue. Any other answer prevents	 it  from  overwriting
	      the  file.  (See	-f for additional information.)	 Preserves for
	      the copy the modification time, access time, file mode, user ID,
	      and group ID of the original, as allowed by permissions.	If the
	      user ID and group ID cannot be preserved, no  error  message  is
	      displayed and the exit value is not altered.  If the original is
	      set-user-ID or set-group-ID, and either the user ID or the group
	      ID  cannot  be  preserved, the set-user-ID and set-group-ID bits
	      are not preserved in the copy's permissions. [Tru64  UNIX]  Pre‐
	      serves  the  extended file attributes (property list), including
	      the access control list (ACL) if any.   When  the	 source	 is  a
	      directory, copies the directory and the entire subtree connected
	      at that point. Special file types, such as symbolic links, named
	      pipes  (FIFOs),  and block and character devices, are opened and
	      their contents are copied to regular files having the same name.
	      (This  may  be desired for links but is probably not desired for
	      disk, tape, or network devices.) For example, if a is a symbolic
	      link to file z and a is copied to b with the -r option, b is not
	      a symbolic link to file z but is a copy of it.  As with -r, when
	      the  source  is a directory, copies the directory and the entire
	      subtree connected at that point. However, destination_files  are
	      created  with  the same file types as source_files, for instance
	      symbolic links, named  pipes  (FIFOs),  or  block	 or  character
	      devices.	As an example, if a is a symbolic link to file z and a
	      is copied to b with the -R option, b will	 also  be  a  symbolic
	      link  to	file  z. If source_file is a FIFO, the file permission
	      bits of destination_file are set to those of  source_file	 modi‐
	      fied  by	the file creation mask of the user if the -p option is
	      not used.	 Indicates that the arguments  following  this	option
	      are to be interpreted as file names. This null option allows the
	      specification of file names that start with a minus.

DESCRIPTION
       If a destination file already exists, its contents are  overwritten  if
       permissions  allow,  but cp does not change its mode, user ID, or group
       ID. However, if the file is not being copied by the root user,  writing
       the file may clear the set-user-ID or set-group-ID permission bits.

       If  the destination file does not exist, the mode of the source file is
       used, as modified by the file mode creation mask (umask). If the source
       file  is	 either	 set-user-ID  or  set-group-ID, those bits are removed
       unless the -p option is used.

       Appropriate permissions are always required for file creation or	 over‐
       writing.

       [Tru64  UNIX]  You can also copy special device files. If the file is a
       named pipe, the data in the pipe is copied into a regular file. If  the
       file is a device, the file is read until the end of file, and that data
       is copied into a regular file.

       The LC_MESSAGES variable determines the locale's equivalent of y	 or  n
       (for yes/no queries).

       If  the	source_file  is a directory, the following is true: If neither
       the -R or -r option was specified, an error message  is	displayed  and
       source_file  is	not  copied.   If the target specified exists and is a
       file, not a directory, an error message is displayed and source_file is
       not  copied.   If the target does not exist and the -p option is speci‐
       fied, the permission bits of the target directory are set equal to  the
       source  directory  bitwise  inclusively ORed with S_IRWXU (0700 octal).
       This means the newly created directory  will  always  allow  the	 owner
       read,  write  and execute permission.  If the target does not exist and
       the -p option is not specified,	the  permission	 bits  of  the	target
       directory  are  set equal to the source directory bits, modified by the
       file creation mask of the user (shuts off the corresponding  permission
       bits  specified	in  the umask). The resulting permission bits are then
       ORed with S_IRWXU (0700 octal) which gives the owner  read,  write  and
       execute	permission.   If  the target does not exist and cannot be cre‐
       ated, an error message is displayed and source_file is not copied.

NOTES
       Do not give the destination the same name as one of the	source	files.
       If  you	specify	 a  directory  as  the destination, the directory must
       already exist.  If you are using the -r option to copy the contents  of
       one  directory to another, and source_directory contains subdirectories
       that do not exist in destination_directory, the subdirectories are cre‐
       ated.

EXIT STATUS
       The  following  exit  values  are  returned: Successful completion.  An
       error occurred.

EXAMPLES
       To copy one file to another, enter: cp file1 file2

	      If file2 exists (and is writable), it is replaced by file1.   To
	      copy files to a directory, enter: cp file1 file2 dir1

	      The dir1 directory must exist.  To copy all files in a directory
	      and preserve their modification times, enter: cp -p dir1/*  dir2
	      To copy a directory tree to another directory, enter: cp -r dir1
	      dir2

	      The dir1 tree is created in dir2.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
       The following environment variables affect the execution	 of  cp:  Pro‐
       vides  a	 default value for the internationalization variables that are
       unset or null. If LANG is unset or null, the corresponding  value  from
       the  default  locale  is used. If any of the internationalization vari‐
       ables contain an invalid setting, the utility behaves as if none of the
       variables  had been defined.  If set to a non-empty string value, over‐
       rides the values	 of  all  the  other  internationalization  variables.
       Determines  the	locale for the interpretation of sequences of bytes of
       text data as characters (for example, single-byte as opposed to	multi‐
       byte  characters	 in  arguments).  Determines the locale for the format
       and contents of diagnostic messages written to standard error.	Deter‐
       mines  the location of message catalogues for the processing of LC_MES‐
       SAGES.  Resolves the behavior of the command  in	 some  scenarios  that
       cause  noncompliance with POSIX standards. Setting this variable to ALL
       enables the command to overcome all instances of noncompliance.

SEE ALSO
       Commands:  cpio(1), find(1), link(1),  ln(1),  mv(1),  pax(1),  tar(1),
       umask(1)

       Functions:  umask(2)

       Files:  proplist(4), acl(4)

       Standards:  standards(5)

									 cp(1)
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