cpio

cpio

Like tar, cpio archives files and directories. With cpio, you can copy files to tape or disk, archive empty directories, swap byte order, create portable ASCII archives, and read from and write to standard output. cpio is also useful for copying files and directories when the cp(1) command is unable to do so. For example, you cannot use cp to copy a directory to a different filesystem.

Note: XFS and cpio: Use the -K option with the cpio(1) command for files larger than 2 GB. If the -K option is not used, cpio skips any files larger than 2 GB and issues a warning. Note that use of this option can create cpio archives that are not usable on non-XFS systems. The -K option can be used only with the -o (output) option. The -K option cannot be used the -c option (which creates cpio archives with ASCII headers), or with the -H option (used to specify various header formats).

Saving Data With cpio
Examining cpio Archives
Restoring cpio Archives