COPY(1)                     General Commands Manual                    COPY(1)



NAME
       copy - file/directory copy utility

USAGE
       copy [options] file1 file2

       copy [options] file ... directory

SYNOPSIS
       Copy  is  an extension of the basic POSIX cp utility.  It copies files,
       preserving their modification date.

DESCRIPTION
       Copy copies file1 onto file2.  It preserves the existing mode of file2.
       If file2 did not exist, copy uses the mode of the source file.

       Copy can also be used to copy one or more files into directory, without
       changing their original filenames.  It refuses to copy a file onto  it-
       self.

       Except  for  symbolic links, file2 will be set to the same modification
       date as file1.  The owner of the file will be the same as the owner  of
       the  process  which invokes copy.  Unless the "-i" option is used, copy
       ignores permissions of the (previous) destination file.

OPTIONS
       Copy recognizes options similar to those of cp, but with extensions:

       -a  include dot-files (names beginning with '.').  This is the default.
           Use  this  option  to  override -z, e.g., in a script which presets
           that option.

       -d  all names given are treated as the destination;  the  source  names
           are  obtained by taking the leaves and looking for them in the cur-
           rent working directory.  This is provided to simplify  installation
           of files in a directory.

       -f  forces  copy into protected directories by temporarily changing the
           destination protection.

       -i  prompt with the name of the file whenever the copy  will  cause  an
           old  file to be overwritten.  A "y" answer causes copy to continue.
           Any other answer prevents it from overwriting the file.

       -l  copy the files which symbolic links point to, rather  than  copying
           the links themselves.

       -m  permits  you  to  merge directories.  If the source and destination
           are directories, copy will normally create a  new  directory  under
           the  destination  with the same leaf name as the source.  For exam-
           ple,

            copy /local/bin /usr/local/bin


           will create and copy into  the  directory  "/usr/local/bin/bin"  if
           "/usr/local/bin"  exists.   Use the "-m" option to copy onto an ex-
           isting directory.

       -n  disables the actual creation or modification of files, and (depend-
           ing  on  the  level of verboseness) shows the effect which the copy
           command would have.

       -p  attempt to preserve file ownership.

       -s  enables the set-uid and set-gid file modes in the target.

       -u  copies files only if their size or modification date  differs,  and
           links only if the link-text differs.

       -U  copies  only  files that are newer than the destination, or that do
           not exist in the destination.

       -v  verbose mode directs copy to print the names (to standard error) of
           the files which it copies.

       -z  omit dot-files (names beginning with '.').

       -S  (Linux  only)  tells  copy that the source is on a filesystem using
           local time, and that appropriate adjustments must be  made  in  the
           timestamp computation.

       -D  (Linux only) tells copy that the destination is on a filesystem us-
           ing local time, and that appropriate adjustments must  be  made  in
           the timestamp computation.

OPERATIONS
       Copy is used exactly as one would use cp (for file-copying).  Directory
       copying is performed without the "-r" option of cp.

       Copy recognizes the C-shell "~" (tilde) to denote the home directory of
       POSIX users.

       If  more  than two arguments are given, or if the destination ends with
       "/", copy assumes that the user wants to write into an existing  direc-
       tory rather than create a new one.

ENVIRONMENT
       Copy is a C-language program which runs in a POSIX environment.

FILES
       Copy is a single binary file, "copy".

ANTICIPATED CHANGES
       Copy  does  not  currently  know  how  to  handle  special files (e.g.,
       /dev/tty).

SEE ALSO
       cp (1)

AUTHOR:
       Thomas E. Dickey <dickey@invisible-island.net>



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