Use the cp
-r (recursive) command to copy
a directory and its contents to another directory. If the destination
directory does not exist, it is created. Without the -r option,
files and subdirectories contained within a directory will not be
copied. When used with the -i
option, cp
prompts for verification before overwriting an existing file.
| Command Format: |
| cp -r[i]
source_directory(s) destination_directory |
Copying a Directory within the Same
Directory
The cp -r
command can be used to copy a directory and all of its contents to a
new directory in the current directory. You must use the -r
option to copy directories. Figure
shows copying the dir3
directory to a new directory named ski.places
without using the -r option and demonstrates the error that
results. The last example shows the proper use of the cp
-r command to copy a directory.
Notice that the dir3
directory is being copied to a new directory named ski.places
which has an extension of 5 characters. It is permissible to have
multiple extensions with UNIX directory names.
Copying a Directory to Another
Directory
Figure
demonstrates how to copy a directory to another directory that is not
in the current directory. In the example, the planets directory
is copied to dir1/constellation using a relative pathname. The .. (two dots) moves up one directory and then down to the
dir1
directory. The second example copies two directories at the same time; dir1
and ski.places
to the absolute pathname
of the /tmp
directory.
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Interactive
Media Activity
(Flash,
95 kB) |
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Copying
Directories
In this media activity, you are logged in as user2 and your current working directory is: /home/user2/dir3. Refer to the Class File Tree Structure by clicking the 'tree' button located on the Menu Bar and type the commands that would accomplish the requested objectives.
Note: Be sure to press enter after each one. Click on step 1 to begin.
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Lab
Activity
(Adobe
Acrobat Reader, 48 kB) |
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Copying
Files and Directories
In
this lab, you will perform more advanced file and
directory management tasks using the command line
interface and the cp
(copy) command. |
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