Hello to all engineers using FreeBSD! This time, we will explain in detail how to recursively copy a directory.
By reading this article, you will learn how to back up files and directories.

Contents
  1. Introduction
  2. Basics of the cp Command
  3. Recursive Copy
  4. Copy While Preserving Attributes
  5. Summary

Introduction

Copying directories is a very common operation in file management and backup creation. However, directories often contain various subdirectories and files, and copying them one by one manually requires a lot of effort. This is where recursive copying becomes useful.

Recursive copying is a method that copies not only the specified directory but also all subdirectories and files contained within it. This allows you to easily create a copy while preserving the directory structure as it is.

Basics of the cp Command

To copy directories in FreeBSD, use the cp command. cp stands for “copy” and is a basic command used to copy files and directories. The basic usage of the cp command is as follows.

cp [options] [source file or directory] [destination file or directory]

Recursive Copy

To copy a directory recursively, add the -R option (or -r option) to the cp command. This copies not only the specified directory but also all subdirectories and files contained within it. For example, if you want to copy the /home/user/documents directory to /home/user/backup, run the command as follows.

cp -R /home/user/documents /home/user/backup

　
This command copies the documents directory and all its subdirectories and files to the backup directory. If the backup directory does not exist, it will be created by this command.

Copy While Preserving Attributes

If you want to copy while preserving file and directory attributes (permissions, owner, timestamps, etc.), add the -p option. This ensures that the copied files and directories retain their original attributes. For example, let’s add the -p option to the previous example.

cp -Rp /home/user/documents /home/user/backup

　
This command recursively copies the documents directory and all its subdirectories and files to the backup directory while preserving their attributes.

Summary

The way to recursively copy a directory in FreeBSD is to add the -R (or -r) option to the cp command. Additionally, if you want to preserve file and directory attributes, use the -p option together with it. By mastering these commands, you will be able to perform file management and backup creation efficiently.

　
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