NAME

     cp, ln, mv - copy, link or move files

SYNOPSIS

     cp [ -irp ] file1 [file2 ...] target
     ln [ -sif ] file1 [file2 ...] target
     mv [ -if  ] file1 [file2 ...] target

DESCRIPTION

     file1 is copied (linked, moved) to target.  Under no circumstance can
     file1 and target be the same (take care when using sh(1) metacharacters).
     If target is a directory, then one or more files are copied (linked,
     moved) to that directory.  If target is an existing file, its contents
     are destroyed, except in the ln -s case where the command will fail (use
     the -i or -f option to override this behavior).

     If mv or ln determines that the mode of target forbids writing, it will
     print the mode (see chmod(2)), ask for a response, and read the standard
     input for one line; if the line begins with y, the mv or ln occurs, if
     permissible; if not, the command exits.  When the -f option is used or if
     the standard input is not a terminal, no questions are asked and the mv
     or ln is done.  Additionally, if target exists, then the -f option will
     force the link when ln -s is specified.

     For mv, if file1 is a directory the rename will occur only if file1 and
     target are in the same file system.  If file1 is a file and target is a
     link to another file with links, the other links remain and target
     becomes a new file.

     When cp is invoked, if target is not an existing file, a new file is
     created which has the same mode as file1 except that the sticky bit is
     not set unless you are super-user; the owner and group of target are
     those of the user.  If target is a file, copying a file into target does
     not change its mode, owner or group.  The last modification time of
     target (and last access time, if target did not exist) and the last
     access time of file1 are set to the time the copy was made.  If target is
     a link to a file, all links remain and the file is changed.

     The -p option will cause the modification time, permissions, owner, and
     group of the target to be set to those of file1 after the file is copied.

     With the -s option ln creates symbolic links.  A symbolic link is a
     special kind of file whose contents are the name of another file (see
     symlink(2)).  A symbolic link contains the name of the file to which it
     is linked.  Most system calls, including open(2), stat(2), and access(2),
     substitute these contents when the name of a symbolic link occurs in a
     pathname.  This process is known as ``following'' symbolic links.
     stat(2), readlink(2), symlink(2), and unlink(2) also do this
     substitution, except on the last component of the pathname.  Thus, they
     are said not to ``follow'' symbolic links.  Symbolic links may span file
     systems and may refer to directories.  Note that cp ``follows'' symbolic
     links, while mv and ln do not ``follow'' symbolic links.
     If the -i option is specified with cp, ln, or mv and target exists, the
     user is prompted with the message:

          overwrite target?

     If the user answers with a line starting with `y', the move or copy
     continues.  Any other reply prevents the command from completing.  When
     creating soft links this warning often indicates that the user has
     swapped the file and target parameters, which results in replacement of
     the target file with a dangling symbolic link.

     If the -r option is specified with cp and any of the source files are
     directories, cp copies each subtree rooted at that name; in this case
     target must be a directory.

SEE ALSO

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

WARNINGS

     ln without -s will not link across file systems.  This restriction is
     necessary because file systems can be added and removed.

BUGS

     If file1 and target lie on different file systems, mv must copy the file
     and delete the original.  In this case any linking relationship with
     other files is lost.

Back to Getting started on the IRIS

Back to Biophysics 254 homepage