doubt in cp command for copying recursively directories and files

mq15 · 04-19-2010, 10:18 AM

Hi there.
There are many files in my source directory and its subdirectories. Keeping the directory tree same as that of my source directory, I want to copy only specific type of files (say only .txt files or say all those files with specific string pattern in their names) and leave the others. Note that I want copy not only the files but also the directory hierarchy as well. I don't know how to construct cp command for this. What I only know is that -r or -R is used for recursion wth cp command
Thanks

troop · 04-19-2010, 10:27 AM

You can use rsync.

business_kid · 04-19-2010, 10:36 AM

cp -a
cp can fall over copying empty directories.

You could simply use lndir, which makes symlinks, and is a bit more space efficient
/tries getting too clever
You could even get clever and try find [OPTIONS] |xargs install -D

bigrigdriver · 04-19-2010, 10:47 AM

Depending on what you want to achieve, you could use rsync to keep directories in sync. Or, you could use three commands piped together.

Something like: ls -r SOURCE | grep .txt | cp --parents *.txt

Note that I have not tried this command, so it may need to be tweaked a bit.