copy is a
shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...
command
Command may refer to:
Computing
* Command (computing), a statement in a computer language
* command (Unix), a Unix command
* COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS
* Command key, a modifier key on A ...
for
copying
Copying is the duplication of information or an wiktionary:artifact, artifact based on an instance of that information or artifact, and not using the process that originally generated it. With Analog device, analog forms of information, copying is ...
files.
Different implementations provide various capabilities, such as:
* Combining (concatenating) multiple files into a single file
* If multiple source files are specified before the path to an existing directory, then files are copied to the directory
* Support for text vs. binary data; for text, the command stops when it reaches an
end-of-file (EOF) character; for binary, files are copied in their entirety; ignoring EOF
* In DOS, a file can be copied to or from a device. For example,
copy ''path'' con outputs the file at ''path'' to the console, and
copy con ''path'' copies text typed at the console to a file at ''path''
Implementations
The command is available in
RT-11
RT-11 (Real-time 11) is a discontinued small, low-end, single-user real-time operating system for the full line of Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-11 16-bit computers. RT-11 was first implemented in 1970. It was widely used for real-time compu ...
,
OS/8,
["Concise Command Language" (CCL).] RSX-11
RSX-11 is a discontinued family of multi-user real-time operating systems for PDP-11 computers created by Digital Equipment Corporation. In widespread use through the late 1970s and early 1980s, RSX-11 was influential in the development of later ...
,
ISIS-II,
iRMX 86,
TOPS-10,
TOPS-20,
OpenVMS
OpenVMS, often referred to as just VMS, is a multi-user, multiprocessing and virtual memory-based operating system. It is designed to support time-sharing, batch processing, transaction processing and workstation applications. Customers using Op ...
,
MetaComCo
MetaComCo (MCC) was a computer systems software company started in 1981 and based in Bristol, England by Peter Mackeonis and Derek Budge. A division of Tenchstar, Ltd.
MetaComCo's first product was an MBASIC compatible interpreter for IBM PCs, ...
TRIPOS
TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...
,
HDOS,
Z80-RIO,
OS-9,
DOS,
FlexOS
FlexOS is a discontinued modular real-time multiuser multitasking operating system ( RTOS) designed for computer-integrated manufacturing, laboratory, retail and financial markets. Developed by Digital Research's Flexible Automation Business ...
,
4690 OS
4690 Operating System (sometimes shortened to 4690 OS or 4690) is a specially designed point of sale (POS) operating system, originally sold by IBM. In 2012, IBM sold its retail business, including this product, to Toshiba, which assumed support. ...
,
PC-MOS,
HP MPE/iX,
OS/2
OS/2 is a Proprietary software, proprietary computer operating system for x86 and PowerPC based personal computers. It was created and initially developed jointly by IBM and Microsoft, under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci, ...
,
Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
,
ROM-DOS,
ReactOS
ReactOS is a Free and open-source software, free and open-source operating system for i586/amd64 personal computers that is intended to be binary-code compatibility, binary-compatible with computer programs and device drivers developed for Wind ...
,
SymbOS, DexOS, and
86-DOS
86-DOS (known internally as QDOS, for Quick and Dirty Operating System) is a discontinued operating system developed and marketed by Seattle Computer Products (SCP) for its Intel 8086-based computer kit.
86-DOS shared a few of its commands wi ...
.
Under
IBM PC DOS/
MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...
the command is available since version 1.
Some shells provide a copy command with a different name. In
Unix
Unix (, ; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multi-user computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, a ...
-based systems, the copy command is
cp. In
CP/M
CP/M, originally standing for Control Program/Monitor and later Control Program for Microcomputers, is a mass-market operating system created in 1974 for Intel 8080/Intel 8085, 85-based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Dig ...
, the command is
PIP. in
OpenVOS, the command is
copy_file.
.
DOS
The following copies existing file ''fromfile'' to path ''tofile'.
copy fromfile tofile
A file can be copied to a device. The following sends a file to the
printer on lpt1.
copy letter.txt lpt1
The following outputs to
stdout, like the
type command.
copy letter.txt con
The following
concatenates the page# files into
book.txt like
cat.
copy page1.txt+page2.txt book.txt
The command can copy files between drives.
The following uses text mode to copy text of the file; stopping when it reaches an EOF character.
copy /a doc1.txt + doc2.txt doc3.txt
copy /a *.txt doc3.txt
The following uses binary mode; concatenating files in their entirety; ignoring EOF characters.
copy /b image1.jpg + image2.jpg image3.jpg
See also
*
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
copy , Microsoft DocsOpen source COPY implementation that comes with MS-DOS v2.0
{{Windows commands
Internal DOS commands
MSX-DOS commands
OS/2 commands
ReactOS commands
Windows commands
Microcomputer software
Microsoft free software
Windows administration
File copy utilities