How to Copy Linux Directory
Copying directories on Linux is an essential skill for every user. Whether you want to backup your files, copy them to another directory, or transfer them to another computer, knowing how to copy directories can save you a lot of time and effort. In this article, we will explore various ways to copy directories on Linux. We will cover basic copying with the cp
command, recursive copying, and copying directories to remote hosts with rsync
and scp
. So, let’s get started!
Basic Directory Copying with cp Command
Copying directories on Linux can be done using the cp
command. This command is short for “copy”, and it is used to copy files and directories. Here are some examples of basic directory copying using the cp
command:
- Syntax of cp command
The syntax of the cp
command is as follows:
cp [options] source_file destination_file
According to Linuxize, the source_file
is the file or directory that you want to copy, and the destination_file
is the file or directory where you want to copy it. If the destination_file
is a directory, the source_file
will be copied into that directory.
- Copying files to different directories
You can use the cp
command to copy files to different directories. For example, if you want to copy a file called file.txt
from your home directory to a directory called documents
, you can use the following command:
cp ~/file.txt ~/documents/
According to FreeCodeCamp, this command copies the file.txt
file from the home directory to the documents
directory.
- Copying multiple files at once
You can use the cp
command to copy multiple files at once. For example, if you want to copy all *.txt
files from your home directory to a directory called documents
, you can use the following command:
cp ~/[!_]*.txt ~/documents/
According to Linuxize, this command will copy all files that have a .txt
extension and do not start with an underscore.
- Copying directories
You can use the cp
command to copy directories. However, you need to use the -r
or -R
flag to specify that you want to copy the entire directory recursively. For example, if you want to copy a directory called myfolder
to a directory called backup
, you can use the following command:
cp -r ~/myfolder ~/backup/
According to Linode, this command will copy the myfolder
directory to the backup
directory recursively.
- Preserving file attributes
By default, the cp
command will copy files and directories without preserving their file attributes, such as ownership, permissions, and timestamps. However, you can use the -a
or --archive
flag to preserve these attributes. For example, if you want to copy a directory called myfolder
to a directory called backup
and preserve its file attributes, you can use the following command:
cp -a ~/myfolder ~/backup/
According to PhoenixNAP, this command will copy the myfolder
directory to the backup
directory while preserving the file attributes.
Recursive Directory Copying with cp Command
The cp
command can also be used to copy directories recursively. This means that it will copy the entire directory structure, including all subdirectories and files. Here are some examples of recursive directory copying using the cp
command:
- Syntax of recursive copying
The syntax of the recursive copying command is as follows:
cp -r [options] source_directory destination_directory
According to DevConnected, the -r
flag is used to indicate that the directories should be copied recursively.
- Recursive copying of directories
You can use the -r
flag to copy directories recursively. For example, if you want to copy a directory called myfolder
and all its subdirectories and files to a directory called backup
, you can use the following command:
cp -r ~/myfolder ~/backup/
According to FreeCodeCamp, this command will copy the myfolder
directory and all its contents to the backup
directory recursively.
- Recursive copying with progress status
You can use the pv
command to display the progress status of a recursive copy. The pv
command is used to monitor the progress of data through a pipeline. For example, if you want to copy a directory called myfolder
and all its subdirectories and files to a directory called backup
and display the progress status, you can use the following command:
cp -r ~/myfolder ~/backup/ | pv -lep -s $(du -sb ~/myfolder | awk '{print $1}')
According to Linuxize, this command will display the progress status of the copy operation. It uses the du
command to get the size of the directory being copied, and the awk
command to extract the size in bytes. The size is then passed to the pv
command using the -s
flag. The -lep
flags are used to display the progress status in bytes, ETA, and percentage.
Copying Directories to Remote Hosts with rsync and scp
In addition to copying directories on the local machine, you can also copy directories to remote hosts using rsync
and scp
. Here are some examples of copying directories to remote hosts using these commands:
- Copying directories using rsync
rsync
is a powerful utility that can be used to synchronize files and directories between local and remote machines. To copy a directory called myfolder
on your local machine to a remote host with IP address 192.168.1.100
and store it in the /backup
directory, you can use the following command:
rsync -avz ~/myfolder/ [email protected]:/backup/
According to DevConnected, this command will copy the contents of the myfolder
directory to the remote host using rsync
. The -a
option is used to preserve the file attributes, -v
option is used to display verbose output, and the -z
option is used to compress the data during the transfer.
- Copying directories using scp
scp
is a command-line utility used to securely copy files and directories between remote hosts. To copy a directory called myfolder
on your local machine to a remote host with IP address 192.168.1.100
and store it in the /backup
directory, you can use the following command:
scp -r ~/myfolder/ [email protected]:/backup/
According to Linode, this command will copy the myfolder
directory and its contents to the remote host using scp
. The -r
option is used to copy directories recursively.
- Copying directories with progress status
You can also display the progress status of the copy operation when using rsync
or scp
. For example, to display the progress status of the rsync
command, you can use the following command:
rsync -avz --progress ~/myfolder/ [email protected]:/backup/
According to PhoenixNAP, this command will display the progress status of the copy operation. The --progress
option is used to display the progress status.
Similarly, to display the progress status of the scp
command, you can use the following command:
scp -r ~/myfolder/ [email protected]:/backup/ | pv -lep -s $(du -sb ~/myfolder | awk '{print $1}')
According to Linuxize, this command will display the progress status of the copy operation. It uses the pv
command to display the progress status, and the du
and awk
commands to get the size of the directory being copied.
Wrapping Up
Copying directories on Linux can be done easily using the cp
, rsync
, and scp
commands. The cp
command is used for basic copying, while rsync
and scp
are more versatile utilities for synchronizing files and directories while preserving their attributes. Here are some key takeaways from this article:
- The
cp
command is used to copy files and directories on Linux. - The
-r
or-R
flag is used to copy directories recursively. - The
-a
or--archive
flag is used to preserve file attributes when copying. rsync
andscp
are used to copy directories to remote hosts.- The
pv
command can be used to display the progress status of a copy operation.
Remember to always check the man pages or online documentation for more information on the commands and their options.
We hope this article has been helpful in showing you how to copy directories on Linux. Be sure to check out our other great content for more Linux tips and tricks.
Happy Linuxing!
Questions
Q.What is the command to copy a directory on Linux?
A.The command to copy a directory on Linux is cp
.
Q.How do I copy a directory and its contents in Linux?
A.Use the cp
command with the -r
flag to copy a directory and its contents.
Q.What is the difference between cp
and rsync
?
A.While cp
copies files and directories locally, rsync
copies files and directories both locally and remotely.
Q.How do I copy a directory to a remote host using rsync
?
A.Use the rsync
command with the -avz
options, followed by the source directory and destination host.
Q.What is the -r
flag used for in scp
?
A.The -r
flag is used to copy directories recursively with scp
.
Q.How do I copy a directory and display the progress status?
A.Use the pv
command in conjunction with cp
, rsync
, or scp
to display the progress status of the copy operation.