NAME
	  cp - Copies files

     SYNOPSIS
	  cp [-fhip] [--] source_file destination_file

	  cp [-fhip] [--] source_file ...  destination_directory

	  cp [-fhip] [-R | -r] [--] [source_file | source_directory]
	  ...  destination_directory


	  The cp command copies	a source file or the files in a	source
	  directory to a destination file or directory.	 If your
	  source and destination are directories, the source is	copied
	  to the destination and created with the same name.

     FLAGS
	  -f  Overrides	the i option; cp does not prompt you when an
	      existing file is to be overwritten.  (If both -f and -i
	      are specified on the command line	 for example, because
	      an alias includes	one of them  whichever appears last
	      overrides	the other.)

	  -h  Forces cp	to follow symbolic links; useful with with the
	      -R option, which does not	follow symbolic	links by
	      default.

	  -i  Prompts you with the name	of the file whenever the copy
	      causes an	old file to be overwritten.  An	answer begin-
	      ning with	y, or the locale's equivalent of y, causes cp
	      to continue.  Any	other answer prevents it from
	      overwriting the file.  (If both -f and -i	are specified
	      on the command line  for example,	because	an alias
	      includes one of them  whichever appears last overrides
	      the other.)

	  -p  Preserves	for the	copy the modification time, access
	      time, file mode, user ID,	and group ID of	the original,
	      as allowed by permissions.  If the user ID and group ID
	      cannot be	preserved, no error message is displayed and
	      the exit value is	not altered.  If the original is set-
	      user-ID or set-group -D, and either the user ID or the
	      group ID cannot be preserved, the	set-user-ID and	set-
	      group-ID bits are	not preserved in the copy's permis-
	      sions.

	  -R  When the source is a directory, copies the directory and
	      the entire subtree connected at that point.  Special
	      file types, such as symbolic links and block and charac-
	      ter devices, are recreated instead of being copied.
	      Created directories have the same	mode as	the
	      corresponding source directory, unmodified by the
	      process's	file mode creation mask	(umask).

	  -r  Identical	to -R except that special files	are not
	      treated differently from regular files (follows symbolic
	      links).  The -R option is	preferred.

	  --  Indicates	that the arguments following this flag are to
	      be interpreted as	filenames.  This null flag allows the
	      specification of filenames that start with a minus.


     DESCRIPTION
	  If a destination file	already	exists,	its contents are
	  overwritten if permissions allow, but	cp does	not change its
	  mode,	user ID, or group ID.  However,	if the file is not
	  being	copied by the root user, writing the file may clear
	  the set-user-ID or set-group-ID permission bits.

	  If the destination file does not exist, the mode of the
	  source file is used, as modified by the file mode creation
	  mask (umask).	 If the	source file is either set-user-ID or
	  set-group-ID,	those bits are removed unless the source file
	  and the destination file are owned by	the same user and
	  group.

	  Appropriate permissions are always required for file crea-
	  tion or overwriting.

	  You can also copy special device files.  If the file is a
	  named	pipe, the data in the pipe is copied into a regular
	  file.	 If the	file is	a device, the file is read until the
	  end of file, and that	data is	copied into a regular file.

	  The LC_MESSAGES variable determines the locale's equivalent
	  of y or n (for yes/no	queries).

     EXAMPLES
	   1.  To copy one file	to another, enter:

	       cp file1	file2



	       If file2	exists (and is writable), it is	replaced by
	       file1.

	   2.  To copy files to	a directory, enter:

	       cp file1	file2 dir1


	       dir1 must exist.

	   3.  To copy all files in a directory	and preserve their
	       modification times, enter:

	       cp -p dir1/* dir2



	   4.  To copy a directory tree	to another directory, enter:

	       cp -R dir1 dir2



	       The dir1	tree is	created	in dir2.


     NOTES
	   1.  Do not give the destination the same name as one	of the
	       source files.

	   2.  If you specify a	directory as the destination, the
	       directory must already exist.

	   3.  If you are using	the -r option to copy the contents of
	       one directory to	another, and source_directory contains
	       subdirectories that do not exist	in
	       destination_directory, the subdirectories will be
	       created.


     EXIT VALUES
	  The cp command returns 0 (zero) upon successful completion
	  and greater than 0 (zero) if an error	occurs.

     RELATED INFORMATION
	  Commands: cpio(1), link(1)/unlink(1),	ln(1), mv(1).