How do I copy a symbolic link?

Question

I have a symbolic link to a file in one directory. I would like to have that same link in another directory. How do I copy a symbolic link?

I tried to cp the symbolic link but this copies the file it points to instead of the symbolic link itself.

Does cp on CentOS support -P or --no-dereference switch? — manatwork, Nov 19 '12 at 09:10
@manatwork: Thanks it does just found that. If you want to post it as an answer I'll accept it. — User, Nov 19 '12 at 09:14

score 146 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 20 '12 at 00:36

146

Use cp -P (capital P) to never traverse any symbolic link and copy the symbolic link instead.

This can be combined with other options such as -R to copy a directory hierarchy — cp -RL traverses all symbolic links to directories, cp -RP copies all symbolic links as such. cp -R might do one or the other depending on the unix variants; GNU cp (as found on CentOS) defaults to -P.

Even with -P, you can copy the target of a symbolic link to a directory on the command line by adding a / at the end: cp -RP foo/ bar copies the directory tree that foo points to.

GNU cp has a convenient -a option that combines -R, -P, -p and a little more. It makes an exact copy of the source (as far as possible), preserving the directory hierarchy, symbolic links, permissions, modification times and other metadata.

answered Nov 20 '12 at 00:36

Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'

829,060

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Beware that once copied/moved, a symlink might become broken (if the source is a symlink to a relative path). – Stéphane Chazelas Dec 10 '13 at 07:03
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is there a way to prevent breaking the symlinks if you are moving to a higher or lower directory? – Andrew Brown Mar 20 '14 at 07:05
As a note: "GNU cp" is not the same thing as gcp, which I use. gcp -P is currently broken, even in 2019. (sigh). – tgm1024--Monica was mistreated Jun 21 '19 at 19:46
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On a mac cp -a works, but cp -P doesn't – Will Mar 02 '21 at 18:09

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Mar 20 '17 at 10:18

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Check this answer https://superuser.com/a/315757/53590 for a specifically CentOS take on the problem. The whole question might help you but the bit at the bottom is specifically CentOS.

edited Mar 20 '17 at 10:18

Community

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answered Nov 19 '12 at 09:14

Simon Hoare

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Note that others may choose a different order than yours for listing the answers. Beside that, the order may change in time. Please post a direct link to the referred answer. (Click the “share” link below that answer and copy the direct link which appears.) – manatwork Nov 19 '12 at 09:30

How do I copy a symbolic link?

2 Answers2