cp(1)                      (Essential Utilities)                      cp(1)


   NAME
         cp - copy files

   SYNOPSIS
         cp [ -i ] [ -p ] [ -r ] file1 [ file2 ...] target

   DESCRIPTION
         The cp command copies filen to target.  filen and target may not have
         the same name.  (Care must be taken when using sh(1) metacharacters.)
         If target is not a directory, only one file may be specified before
         it; if it is a directory, more than one file may be specified.  If
         target does not exist, cp creates a file named target.  If target
         exists and is not a directory, its contents are overwritten.  If
         target is a directory, the file(s) are copied to that directory.

         The following options are recognized:

         -i    cp will prompt for confirmation whenever the copy would
               overwrite an existing target.  A y answer means that the copy
               should proceed. Any other answer prevents cp from overwriting
               target.

         -p    cp will duplicate not only the contents of filen, but also
               preserves the modification time and permission modes.

         -r    If filen is a directory, cp will copy the directory and all its
               files, including any subdirectories and their files; target
               must be a directory.

         If filen is a directory, target must be a directory in the same
         physical file system.  target and filen do not have to share the same
         parent directory.

         If filen is a file and target is a link to another file with links,
         the other links remain and target becomes a new file.

         If target does not exist, cp creates a new file named target which
         has the same mode as filen except that the sticky bit is not set
         unless the user is a privileged user; the owner and group of target
         are those of the user.

         If target is a file, its contents are overwritten, but the mode,
         owner, and group associated with it are not changed.  The last
         modification time of target and the last access time of filen are set
         to the time the copy was made.

         If target is a directory, then for each file named, a new file with
         the same mode is created in the target directory; the owner and the
         group are those of the user making the copy.




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   cp(1)                      (Essential Utilities)                      cp(1)


   NOTES
         A -- permits the user to mark the end of any command line options
         explicitly, thus allowing cp to recognize filename arguments that
         begin with a -.  If a -- and a - both appear on the same command
         line, the second will be interpreted as a filename.

   SEE ALSO
         chmod(1), cpio(1), rm(1).













































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