CPIO(1) USER COMMANDS CPIO(1)
NAME
cpio - copy file archives in and out
SYNOPSIS
cpio -o [ aBcv ]
cpio -i [ bBcdfmrsStuv6 ] [ patterns ]
cpio -p [ adlmuv ] directory
DESCRIPTION
cpio copies files in to and out from a cpio copy archive.
The archive (built by `cpio -o') contains pathname and
status information, along with the contents of one or more
archived files.
OPTIONS
-o Copy out an archive. Read the standard input for a
list of pathnames, then copy the named files to the
standard output in archive form - including pathname
and status information.
a Reset the access times of input files after they
have been copied.
B Output is to be blocked at 5120 bytes to the
record. This does not apply to the pass option.
This option is only meaningful with data directed
to raw magnetic devices, such as `/dev/rmt?'.
c Write header information in ASCII character form
for portability.
v Verbose. A list of filenames is displayed. When
used with the t option, the table of contents
looks like the output of an `ls -l' command (see
ls(1V)).
-i Copy in an archive. Read in an archive from the stan-
dard input and extract files with names matching
filename substitution patterns, supplied as arguments.
patterns are similar to those in sh(1) or csh(1), save
that within cpio, the metacharacters `?', `*' and `[
... ]' also match the `/' (slash) character. If no
patterns are specified, the default is * (select all
files).
b Swap both bytes and half-words after reading in
data.
B Input is to be blocked at 5120 bytes to the
record. This does not apply to the pass option.
This option is only meaningful with data received
from raw magnetic devices, such as `/dev/rmt?'.
d Create directories as needed.
f Copy in all files except those matching patterns.
m Retain previous file modification time. This
option is ineffective on directories that are
being copied.
r Interactively rename files. If the user types a
null line, the file is skipped. May not be used
with the -p option.
s Swap bytes after reading in data.
S Swap halfwords after reading in data.
t Print a table of contents of the input archive.
No files are created.
u Copy unconditionally. Normally, an older file
will not replace a newer file with the same name.
6 Process UNIX Version-6 files.
-p One pass. Copy in and out in a single operation. Des-
tination pathnames are interpreted relative to the
named directory.
l Whenever possible, link files rather than copying
them.
EXAMPLES
To copy the contents of a directory into an archive:
example% ls | cpio -o > /dev/mt0
To read a cpio archive from a tape drive:
example% cpio -icdB < /dev/rmt0
To duplicate the olddir directory hierarchy in the newdir
directory:
example% cd olddir
example% find . -depth -print | cpio -pdl newdir
The trivial case
example% find . -depth -print | cpio -oB >/dev/rmt0
can be handled more efficiently by:
example% find . -cpio /dev/rmt/0m
cpio archive tapes from other sites may have bytes swapped
within the archive. Although the -is option only swaps the
data bytes and not those in the header cpio recognizes tapes
like this and swaps the bytes in the header automatically.
SEE ALSO
ar(1V), csh(1), find(1), ls(1V), sh(1), tar(1), cpio(5)
BUGS
cpio does not support multiple volume tapes.
Pathnames are restricted to 128 characters. If there are
too many unique linked files, cpio runs out of memory and
linking information is lost thereafter. Only the super-user
can copy special files.
Sun Release 4.1 Last change: 6 September 1988
REPORTS
Analyize In-Line NAC strategies and products.
ANALYTICS Plan and design your enterprise blade server deployments
InformationWeek U.S. IT Salary Survey 2008
Salaries for business technology professionals are falling. Here's what you need to know in order to make good hiring decisions and personal career choices. Download Today
REPORTS
ANALYTICS
Follow 
