cpio - copy files to and from archives


SYNOPSIS

       cpio  {-o|--create} [-0acvABLV] [-C bytes] [-H format] [-M
       message]       [-O       [[user@]host:]archive]        [-F
       [[user@]host:]archive]      [--file=[[user@]host:]archive]
       [--format=format] [--message=message]  [--null]  [--reset-
       access-time]   [--verbose]  [--dot]  [--append]  [--block-
       size=blocks] [--dereference]  [--io-size=bytes]  [--quiet]
       [--force-local]  [--rsh-command=command]  [--help] [--ver­
       sion] < name-list [> archive]

       cpio {-i|--extract} [-bcdfmnrtsuvBSV] [-C bytes] [-E file]
       [-H   format]  [-M  message]  [-R  [user][:.][group]]  [-I
       [[user@]host:]archive]     [-F      [[user@]host:]archive]
       [--file=[[user@]host:]archive]        [--make-directories]
       [--nonmatching] [--preserve-modification-time] [--numeric-
       uid-gid]  [--rename]  [-t|--list]  [--swap-bytes] [--swap]
       [--dot]    [--unconditional]     [--verbose]     [--block-
       size=blocks]  [--swap-halfwords] [--io-size=bytes] [--pat­
       tern-file=file]                          [--format=format]
       [--owner=[user][:.][group]]  [--no-preserve-owner] [--mes­
       sage=message]  [--force-local]   [--no-absolute-filenames]
       [--sparse]   [--only-verify-crc]   [--quiet]   [--rsh-com­
       mand=command]   [--help]   [--version]   [pattern...]   [<
       archive]

       cpio       {-p|--pass-through}       [-0adlmuvLV]      [-R
       [user][:.][group]] [--null] [--reset-access-time] [--make-
       directories]  [--link] [--quiet] [--preserve-modification-
       time] [--unconditional]  [--verbose]  [--dot]  [--derefer­
       ence]   [--owner=[user][:.][group]]  [--no-preserve-owner]
       [--sparse] [--help]  [--version]  destination-directory  <
       name-list


DESCRIPTION

       This  manual page documents the GNU version of cpio.  cpio
       copies files into or out of a cpio or tar  archive,  which
       is a file that contains other files plus information about
       them, such as their  file  name,  owner,  timestamps,  and
       access  permissions.   The  archive can be another file on
       the disk, a magnetic tape, or  a  pipe.   cpio  has  three
       operating modes.

       In  copy-out  mode, cpio copies files into an archive.  It
       reads a list of filenames, one per line, on  the  standard
       input, and writes the archive onto the standard output.  A
       typical way to generate the list of filenames is with  the
       find  command;  you  should give find the -depth option to
       minimize problems with permissions on directories that are
       unwritable or not searchable.

       In  copy-in  mode,  cpio copies files out of an archive or

       standard input.  Any non-option command line arguments are
       shell globbing patterns; only files in the  archive  whose
       names  match one or more of those patterns are copied from
       the archive.  Unlike in the shell, an  initial  `.'  in  a
       filename  does match a wildcard at the start of a pattern,
       and a `/' in a filename can match wildcards.  If  no  pat­
       terns are given, all files are extracted.

       In  copy-pass  mode,  cpio copies files from one directory
       tree to another, combining the copy-out and copy-in  steps
       without  actually  using an archive.  It reads the list of
       files to copy from the standard input; the directory  into
       which it will copy them is given as a non-option argument.

       cpio supports the following archive formats:  binary,  old
       ASCII,  new  ASCII,  crc, HPUX binary, HPUX old ASCII, old
       tar, and POSIX.1  tar.   The  binary  format  is  obsolete
       because  it  encodes  information about the files in a way
       that is not portable between different  machine  architec­
       tures.  The old ASCII format is portable between different
       machine architectures, but should not be used on file sys­
       tems  with  more than 65536 i-nodes.  The new ASCII format
       is portable between different  machine  architectures  and
       can  be used on any size file system, but is not supported
       by all versions of cpio; currently, it is  only  supported
       by  GNU  and Unix System V R4.  The crc format is like the
       new ASCII format, but also contains a  checksum  for  each
       file  which  cpio  calculates when creating an archive and
       verifies when the file is extracted from the archive.  The
       HPUX  formats  are  provided for compatibility with HPUX's
       cpio which stores device files differently.

       The tar format is provided for compatability with the  tar
       program.   It  can not be used to archive files with names
       longer than 100 characters, and can not be used to archive
       "special" (block or character devices) files.  The POSIX.1
       tar format can not be used to  archive  files  with  names
       longer than 255 characters (less unless they have a "/" in
       just the right place).

       By default, cpio creates binary format archives, for  com­
       patibility with older cpio programs.  When extracting from
       archives, cpio  automatically  recognizes  which  kind  of
       archive  it  is  reading  and can read archives created on
       machines with a different byte-order.

       Some of the options to cpio apply only to certain  operat­
       ing  modes;  see  the SYNOPSIS section for a list of which
       options are allowed in which modes.

   OPTIONS
       -0, --null
              In copy-out and copy-pass modes,  read  a  list  of

              a newline, so that files whose names  contain  new­
              lines can be archived.  GNU find is one way to pro­
              duce a list of null-terminated filenames.

       -a, --reset-access-time
              Reset the access times of files after reading them,
              so  that  it does not look like they have just been
              read.

       -A, --append
              Append to an existing archive.  Only works in copy-
              out  mode.   The archive must be a disk file speci­
              fied with the -O or -F (--file) option.

       -b, --swap
              In copy-in mode, swap both halfwords of  words  and
              bytes of halfwords in the data.  Equivalent to -sS.
              Use this option to convert 32-bit integers  between
              big-endian and little-endian machines.

       -B     Set  the  I/O  block size to 5120 bytes.  Initially
              the block size is 512 bytes.

       --block-size=BLOCK-SIZE
              Set the I/O block size to BLOCK-SIZE * 512 bytes.

       -c     Identical to "-H newc", use the new (SVR4) portable
              format.   If  you  wish  the  old  portable (ASCII)
              archive format, use "-H odc" instead.

       -C IO-SIZE, --io-size=IO-SIZE
              Set the I/O block size to IO-SIZE bytes.

       -d, --make-directories
              Create leading directories where needed.

       -E FILE, --pattern-file=FILE
              In copy-in mode, read additional patterns  specify­
              ing  filenames  to  extract or list from FILE.  The
              lines of FILE are treated as if they had been  non-
              option arguments to cpio.

       -f, --nonmatching
              Only  copy files that do not match any of the given
              patterns.

       -F, --file=archive
              Archive filename to use instead of  standard  input
              or  output.  To use a tape drive on another machine
              as the archive, use a  filename  that  starts  with
              `HOSTNAME:'.   The  hostname  can  be preceded by a
              username and an `@' to access the remote tape drive
              as  that  user,  if  you  have  permission to do so

              file).

       --force-local
              With  -F,  -I, or -O, take the archive file name to
              be a local file even if it contains a colon,  which
              would ordinarily indicate a remote host name.

       -H FORMAT, --format=FORMAT
              Use  archive  format FORMAT.  The valid formats are
              listed below; the same names are also recognized in
              all-caps.   The default in copy-in mode is to auto­
              matically detect the archive format, and  in  copy-
              out mode is "bin".

              bin    The obsolete binary format.

              odc    The old (POSIX.1) portable format.

              newc   The  new  (SVR4) portable format, which sup­
                     ports file systems having more than 65536 i-
                     nodes.

              crc    The new (SVR4) portable format with a check­
                     sum added.

              tar    The old tar format.

              ustar  The POSIX.1 tar format.  Also recognizes GNU
                     tar  archives,  which  are  similar  but not
                     identical.

              hpbin  The obsolete binary format  used  by  HPUX's
                     cpio  (which  stores  device  files  differ­
                     ently).

              hpodc  The portable  format  used  by  HPUX's  cpio
                     (which stores device files differently).

       -i, --extract
              Run in copy-in mode.

       -I archive
              Archive  filename to use instead of standard input.
              To use a tape  drive  on  another  machine  as  the
              archive,  use  a  filename  that starts with `HOST­
              NAME:'.  The hostname can be preceded by a username
              and  an `@' to access the remote tape drive as that
              user, if you have permission to do so (typically an
              entry in that user's `~/.rhosts' file).

       -k     Ignored;  for  compatibility with other versions of
              cpio.

              Link files instead of copying them, when  possible.

       -L, --dereference
              Dereference  symbolic  links  (copy  the files that
              they point to instead of copying the links).

       -m, --preserve-modification-time
              Retain previous file modification times when creat­
              ing files.

       -M MESSAGE, --message=MESSAGE
              Print  MESSAGE  when  the  end  of  a volume of the
              backup media (such as a tape or a floppy  disk)  is
              reached, to prompt the user to insert a new volume.
              If MESSAGE contains the string "%d", it is replaced
              by the current volume number (starting at 1).

       -n, --numeric-uid-gid
              In  the  verbose  table  of  contents listing, show
              numeric UID and GID  instead  of  translating  them
              into  names.   Also extracts tar archives using the
              numeric UID  and  GID  instead  of  the  user/group
              names.   (cpio  archives are always extracted using
              the numeric UID and GID.)

        --no-absolute-filenames
              In copy-in mode, create all files relative  to  the
              current  directory,  even  if they have an absolute
              file name in the archive.

        --no-preserve-owner
              In copy-in mode and copy-pass mode, do  not  change
              the ownership of the files; leave them owned by the
              user extracting them.  This is the default for non-
              root  users,  so that users on System V don't inad­
              vertantly give away files.

       -o, --create
              Run in copy-out mode.

       -O archive
              Archive filename to use instead of standard output.
              To  use  a  tape  drive  on  another machine as the
              archive, use a filename  that  starts  with  `HOST­
              NAME:'.  The hostname can be preceded by a username
              and an `@' to access the remote tape drive as  that
              user, if you have permission to do so (typically an
              entry in that user's `~/.rhosts' file).

        --only-verify-crc
              When reading a CRC format archive in copy-in  mode,
              only  verify the CRC's of each file in the archive,
              don't actually extract the files.

              Run in copy-pass mode.

       --quiet
              Do not print the number of blocks copied.

       -r, --rename
              Interactively rename files.

       -R [user][:.][group], --owner [user][:.][group]
              In copy-out and copy-pass modes, set the  ownership
              of  all  files created to the specified user and/or
              group.  Either the user or the group, or both, must
              be present.  If the group is omitted but the ":" or
              "."  separator is given, use the given user's login
              group.   Only the super-user can change files' own­
              ership.

       --rsh-command=COMMAND
              Notifies mt that it should use COMMAND to  communi­
              cate  with  remote devices instead of /usr/bin/ssh,
              /usr/bin/rsh, or the command specified by the envi­
              ronment variable MT_RSH.

       --sparse
              In  copy-in  and  copy-pass modes, write files with
              large blocks of zeros as sparse files.

       -s, --swap-bytes
              In copy-in mode, swap the bytes  of  each  halfword
              (pair of bytes) in the files.

       -S, --swap-halfwords
              In copy-in mode, swap the halfwords of each word (4
              bytes) in the files.

       -t, --list
              Print a table of contents of the input.

       -u, --unconditional
              Replace  all  files,  without  asking  whether   to
              replace existing newer files with older files.

       -v, --verbose
              List  the  files processed, or with -t, give an `ls
              -l' style table of contents listing.  In a  verbose
              table  of  contents  of  a  ustar archive, user and
              group names in the archive that do not exist on the
              local  system are replaced by the names that corre­
              spond locally to the numeric UID and GID stored  in
              the archive.

       -V --dot
              Print a "." for each file processed.

              Print the cpio program version number and exit.


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