Using cp to copy directory permissions recursively?

SirTristan · 11-25-2007, 09:05 AM

I'm using 'cp -r /pathto/dir .' to copy /dir to another directory (while logged in as root). Right now the permissions of the new directory aren't matching up with the permissions or ownership of the old directory.

Is there any way to copy the permissions recursively as well?

dxqcanada · 11-25-2007, 09:20 AM

The man page for cp states:

-p same as --preserve=mode,ownership,timestamps

--preserve[=ATTR_LIST]
preserve the specified attributes (default: mode,ownership,timestamps), if possible additional attributes: links, all

pixellany · 11-25-2007, 09:25 AM

Take a look at cp -p and cp --preserve. Note that you can't create a copy with more permissions than you have on the file. For example, copying the file as root may give different results than when copying under <username>

EDIT: I type (and think) slowly--another smart person just beat me to the punch...

SirTristan · 11-25-2007, 09:36 AM

Thanks for the quick responses, -rp worked