Understanding the cp Command in Bash | by Javascript Jeep🚙💨

The cp command in Bash is used to copy files and directories from one location to another.

Copy Command Syntax and Explanation

The basic syntax of the cp command is:

cp [OPTION]... SOURCE... DESTINATION

• SOURCE: The file or directory you want to copy.
• DESTINATION: The location where you want to place the copied file or directory.
• OPTION: Optional flags that modify the behavior of the cp command.

Commonly used options include:

• -r or -R: Recursively copy directories and their contents.
• -i: Prompt before overwriting an existing file.
• -u: Copy only when the SOURCE file is newer than the DESTINATION file or when the DESTINATION file is missing.
• -v: Verbose mode, which shows the files being copied.
• -T: Treat the destination as a normal file. This is useful when you don’t want to create a new directory at the destination.
• -f: Force the copy operation by removing the destination file if it cannot be opened.

Copying Files Example

To copy a file from one location to another, use the cp command with the source file path and the destination path.

cp /path/to/source/file.txt /path/to/destination/

Example:

cp ~/Documents/report.txt ~/Backup/

This command copies the report.txt file from the Documents directory to the Backup directory.

Copying a File with a Different Name

You can copy a file and give it a different name in the destination directory.

cp /path/to/source/file.txt /path/to/destination/newfile.txt

Example:

cp ~/Documents/report.txt ~/Backup/report_backup.txt

This command copies the report.txt file to the Backup directory and renames it to report_backup.txt.

Copy Directory to a New Directory