cp(1)
NAME
cp − copy
SYNTAX
cp [ −i ] [ −r ] file1 file2
cp [ −i ] [ −r ] file ... directory
DESCRIPTION
The cp command copies File1 onto file2. The mode and owner of file2 are preserved if it already existed; the mode of the source file is used otherwise.
In the second form, one or more files are copied into the directory with their original file-names.
The cp command refuses to copy a file onto itself.
If the −i option is specified, cp will prompt the user with the name of the file whenever the copy will cause an old file to be overwritten. An answer of ’y’ will cause cp to continue. Any other answer will prevent it from overwriting the file.
If the −r option is specified and any of the source files are directories, cp copies each subtree rooted at that name; in this case the destination must be a directory.