

To copy all the files in a directory to a new directory, enter: The star wildcard represents anything i.e. This option ( -p) forces cp to preserve the following attributes of each source file in the copy as allowed by permissions: $ cp -p filename /path/to/new/location/myfile To copy a file to a new file and preserve the modification date, time, and access control list associated with the source file, enter: Here is what I see: foo.txt -> /tmp/foo.txt Preserve file attributes To see files as they are copied pass the -v option as follows to the cp command: To copy a file from your current directory into another directory called /tmp/, enter: $ cp main.c demo.h lib.c /home/project/backup/ Copy a file to another directory If backup is located in /home/project/ directory or folder, then use full path as follows: In this example, copy the files named main.c, demo.h and lib.c into a directory named backup in the current directory: You can copy multiple files simultaneously into another directory. rw-r-r- 1 veryv wheel 20 Mar 20 17:43 newfile.doc Sample outputs: -rw-r-r- 1 veryv wheel 20 Mar 20 17:42 file.doc To make a copy of a file called file.doc in the current directory as newfile.doc, enter: You need to open the Terminal app to use cp command on a Linux. This prompt means that the shell is ready to accept your typed commands. Note: You need to type the cp command at the dollar sign ($) prompt. In the third syntax you copy multiple SOURCE(s) (files) to DIRECTORY.

In the first and second syntax you copy SOURCE file to DEST file or DIRECTORY.$ cp SOURCE1 SOURCE2 SOURCE3 SOURCEn DIRECTORY The syntax is as follows to copy files and directories using the cp command:
