Copy (command) explained

copy is a shell command for copying files.^{[1] [2]}

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,^[3] OS/8,^[4] RSX-11,^[5] ISIS-II,^[6] iRMX 86,^[7] TOPS-10,^[8] TOPS-20,^[9] OpenVMS,^[10] MetaComCo TRIPOS,^[11] HDOS,^[12] Z80-RIO,^[13] OS-9,^[14] DOS, FlexOS,^[15] 4690 OS,^[16] PC-MOS,^[17] HP MPE/iX,^[18] OS/2,^[19] Windows,^[20] ROM-DOS,^[21] ReactOS,^[22] SymbOS, DexOS, and 86-DOS.^[23]

Under IBM PC DOS/MS-DOS the command is available since version 1.^[24]

Some shells provide a copy command with a different name. In Unix-based systems, the copy command is [[cp (Unix)|cp]]. In CP/M, the command is [[Peripheral Interchange Program|PIP]]. in OpenVOS, the command is copy_file.^[25]

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 (DOS command)|type]] command.

copy letter.txt con

The following concatenates the page# files into book.txt like [[cat (Unix)|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 and ignoring EOF characters.

copy /b image1.jpg + image2.jpg image3.jpg

Further reading

• Book: Wolverton. Van. MS-DOS Commands: Microsoft Quick Reference, 4th Revised edition. 1990. Microsoft Press. 978-1556152894.
• Book: Kathy Ivens. Brian Proffit. 1993. OS/2 Inside & Out. Osborne McGraw-Hill. 978-0078818714.
• Book: Frisch, Æleen. 2001. Windows 2000 Commands Pocket Reference. O'Reilly. 978-0-596-00148-3.

External links

• copy | Microsoft Docs
• Open source COPY implementation that comes with MS-DOS v2.0

Notes and References

1. Web site: Microsoft TechNet Copy article. 11 September 2009 .
2. Book: AmigaDOS quick reference. Hannes. Rügheimer. Christian. Spanik. 14 September 1988. Grand Rapids, Mi : Abacus. 9781557550491. Internet Archive.
3. Web site: RT-11 HELP FILE. paleoferrosaurus.com. 2019-07-06 . 2018-07-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180717041552/http://paleoferrosaurus.com/beta/documents/rt11help.html#COPY. dead.
4. "Concise Command Language" (CCL).Web site: OS/8 Handbook . April 1974 . 28 November 2017.
5. Book: RSX A Guide for Users . 1987 . John F. Pieper . Digital Equipment Corporation . 0-932376-90-8 . 2020-09-19.
6. http://bitsavers.org/pdf/intel/ISIS_II/9800306-06_ISIS-II_Users_Guide_May81.pdf ISIS II Users Guide
7. Web site: intel :: iRMX :: 146194-001 irmxR6Intro. Internet Archive.
8. Book: TOPS-10 Operating System Commands Manual . August 1980 . Digital Equipment Corporation . 2019-02-17 . 2020-08-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200809145058/http://scandocs.trailing-edge.com/tops10-aa-0916d-tb.pdf . dead .
9. Web site: TOPS-20 Command manual. 2018-07-18 . 2020-08-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200809103116/http://www.textfiles.com/bitsavers/pdf/dec/pdp10/TOPS20/V6.1/AA-FP65A-TM_tops20CmdsRef.pdf. dead.
10. Web site: OpenVMS User's Manual. www.itec.suny.edu.
11. Web site: Operating manual . www.pagetable.com . 2020-09-14.
12. Web site: Software Reference Manual HDOS SYSTEM Chapter 2 General Operations . en . Heath Company . Heath Company . 2020-02-08 . 2017-08-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170807205702/http://sebhc.lesbird.com/documentation/software/HDOS-2/HDOS_Reference_Chapter2.pdf . dead .
13. Web site: Z80-RIO OPERATING SYSTEM USER'S MANUAL . 2020-02-14 . 2022-01-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220128041146/https://www.z80cpu.eu/mirrors/oldcomputers.dyndns.org/public/pub/rechner/zilog/zds/z80-rio_os_userman.pdf . dead .
14. Book: Paul S. Dayan. 1992. The OS-9 Guru - 1 : The Facts. Galactic Industrial Limited. 0-9519228-0-7.
15. Web site: FlexOS User's Guide . 1986 . www.bitsavers.org . 2020-09-14 . 2010-08-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100808010315/http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/digitalResearch/flexos/1073-2003_FlexOS_Users_Guide_V1.3_Nov86.pdf . dead .
16. https://archive.org/details/4690OSV6r2UsersGuide/page/n169
17. Web site: roelandjansen/pcmos386v501. GitHub. 2 January 2022.
18. Web site: MPE/iX Command Reference Manual . 2018-10-21 . 2018-10-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181021232213/http://www.teamnaconsulting.com/compresources/pdfs/c01687363.pdf . dead .
19. Web site: OS/2 Commands: Copy . 20 July 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190414130029/http://www.jatomes.com/Help/Os2Cmd.php#COPY . 14 April 2019 . dead .
20. Web site: copy. docs.microsoft.com. 3 February 2023 .
21. Web site: Datalight ROM-DOS User's Guide. www.datalight.com.
22. Web site: reactos/reactos. GitHub. 3 January 2022.
23. Book: 86-DOS - Disk Operating System for the 8086 - User's Manual . Preliminary . Version 0.3 . 1980 . . Seattle, Washington, USA . 2019-07-14 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190714004434/http://www.patersontech.com/dos/docs/86_Dos_usr_03.pdf . 2019-07-14. (59 pages)
24. Book: Wolverton. Van. Running MS-DOS Version 6.22 (20th Anniversary Edition), 6th Revised edition. 2003. Microsoft Press. 0-7356-1812-7.
25. Web site: OpenVOS Commands Reference Manual . stratadoc.stratus.com. 2020-09-14.