-a option in `cp` command -- what does it do?

Question

What does the -a option do in the cp command?

I thought that the -a does not preserve the structure of directories. But, I have never found a case where the structure of directories has been destroyed by the -a option.

is there such a case where the structure of directories has been destroyed by the -a option? Thanks.

What has become of the fine art of reading the fine manual page, especially when you want to know what an option does? — Jens, Aug 22 '15 at 09:48

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 22 '15 at 09:45

       -a, --archive
          same as -dR --preserve=all

To my understanding, it should recursively copy the directories while keeping all the attributes. In which case, it shouldn't be destroying the structure at all. http://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man1/cp.1.html

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 22 '15 at 17:47

0

-a means 3 things:

preserve timestamps, permissions, group, user (if you're running as root).
preserves symbolic links (no dereference)
recursive copy

read the man page, it has all info there

answered Aug 22 '15 at 17:47

Nir Levy

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-a option in `cp` command -- what does it do?

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