CPIO
Section: User Commands (1)
Updated: USENIX Association
Index
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NAME
cpio - copy file archives in and out
SYNOPSIS
cpio
-o[Bacv]
cpio
-i[Bcdfmrtuv]
[pattern...]
cpio
-p[adlmruv]
directory
DESCRIPTION
The
cpio
utility produces and reads files in the format specified by the
cpio
Archive/Interchange File Format
specified in
IEEE Std. 1003.1-1988.
The
cpio -i
(copy in) utility extracts files from the standard input, which is
assumed to be the product of a previous
cpio -o .
Only files with names that match
patterns
are selected.
Multiple
patterns
may be specified and if no
patterns
are specified, the default for
patterns
is selecting all files.
The extracted files are conditionally created and copied into the
current directory, and possibly any levels below, based upon the
options described below and the permissions of the files will be those
of the previous
cpio -o .
The owner and group of the files will be that of the current user
unless the user has appropriate privileges, which causes
cpio
to retains the owner and group of the files of the previous
cpio -o .
The
cpio -p
(pass) utility reads the standard input to obtain a list of path names
of files that are conditionally created and copied into the
destination
directory
based upon the options described below.
If an error is detected, the cause is reported and the
cpio
utility will continue to copy other files.
cpio
will skip over any unrecognized files which it encounters in the archive.
The following restrictions apply to the
cpio
utility:
- 1
-
Pathnames are restricted to 256 characters.
- 2
-
Appropriate privileges are required to copy special files.
- 3
-
Blocks are reported in 512-byte quantities.
Options
The following options are available:
- -B
-
Input/output is to be blocked 5120 bytes to the record.
Can only be used with
cpio -o
or
cpio -i
for data that is directed to or from character special files.
- -a
-
Reset access times of input files after they have been copied.
When the
-l
option is also specified, the linked files do not have their access
times reset.
Can only be used with
cpio -o
or
cpio -i .
- -c
-
Write header information in ASCII character for for portability.
Can only be used with
cpio -i
or
cpio -o .
Note that this option should always be used to write portable files.
- -d
-
Creates directories as needed.
Can only be used with
cpio -i
or
cpio -p .
- -f
-
Copy in all files except those in
patterns .
Can only be used with
cpio -i .
- -l
-
Whenever possible, link files rather than copying them.
Can only be used with
cpio -p .
- -m
-
Retain previous modification times.
This option is ineffective on directories that are being copied.
Can only be used with
cpio -i
or
cpio -p .
- -r
-
Interactively rename files.
The user is asked whether to rename
pattern
each invocation.
Read and write permissions for
/dev/tty
are required for this option.
If the user types a null line, the file is skipped.
Should only be used with
cpio -i
or
cpio -o .
- -t
-
Print a table of contents of the input.
No files are created.
Can only be used with
cpio -i .
- -u
-
Copy files unconditionally; usually an older file will not replace a
new file with the same name.
Can only be used with
cpio -i
or
cpio -p .
- -v
-
Verbose: cause the names of the affected files to be printed.
Can only be used with
cpio -i .
Provides a detailed listing when used with the
-t
option.
Operands
The following operands are available:
- patterns
-
Simple regular expressions given in the name-generating notation of the
shell.
- directory
-
The destination directory.
Exit Status
The
cpio
utility exits with one of the following values:
- 0
-
All input files were copied.
- 2
-
The utility encountered errors in copying or accessing files or
directories.
An error will be reported for nonexistent files or directories, or
permissions that do not allow the user to access the source or target
files.
It is important to use the
-depth
option of the
find
utility to generate pathnames for
cpio .
This eliminates problems
cpio
could have trying to create files under read-only directories.
The following command:
-
ls | cpio -o > ../newfile
copies out the files listed by the
ls
utility and redirects them to the file
newfile .
The following command:
-
cat newfile | cpio -id "memo/al" "memo/b*"
uses the output file
newfile
from the
cpio -o
utility, takes those files that match the patterns
memo/al
and
memo/b* ,
creates the directories below the current directory, and places the
files in the appropriate directories.
The command
-
find . -depth -print | cpio -pdlmv newdir
takes the file names piped to it from the
find
utility and copies or links those files to another directory
named
newdir ,
while retaining the modification time.
FILES
- /dev/tty
-
used to prompt the user for information when the
-i
or
-r
options are specified.
SEE ALSO
find(1), pax(1), tar(1), cpio(5), tar(5)
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 1989 Mark H. Colburn.
All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted
provided that the above copyright notice is duplicated in all such
forms and that any documentation, advertising materials, and other
materials related to such distribution and use acknowledge that the
software was developed by Mark H. Colburn and sponsored by The
USENIX Association.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
AUTHOR
Mark H. Colburn
NAPS International
117 Mackubin Street, Suite 1
St. Paul, MN 55102
mark@jhereg.MN.ORG
Sponsored by
The USENIX Association
for public distribution.
Index
- NAME
-
- SYNOPSIS
-
- DESCRIPTION
-
- Options
-
- Operands
-
- Exit Status
-
- It is important to use the
-
- FILES
-
- SEE ALSO
-
- COPYRIGHT
-
- AUTHOR
-
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