Linux copy and create destination dir if it does not exist

Question

I want a command  or probably an option to cp  that creates the destination directory if it does not exist   Example   cp -  file  path to copy file to is very deep there

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This is very late but it may help a rookie somewhere  If you need to  auto  create folders rsync should be your best friend      rsync  path to sourcefile  path to tragetdir thatdoestexist

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install -D file -m 644 -t  path to copy file to is very deep there

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If both of the following are true    You are using the GNU version of cp  and not  for instance  the Mac version   and You are copying from some existing directory structure and you just need it recreated   then you can do this with the --parents flag of cp  From the info page  viewable at http   www gnu org software coreutils manual html node cp-invocation html cp-invocation or with info cp or man cp       --parents      Form the name of each destination file by appending to the target      directory a slash and the specified name of the source file   The      last argument given to  cp  must be the name of an existing      directory   For example  the command             cp --parents a b c existing dir       copies the file  a b c  to  existing dir a b c   creating any      missing intermediate directories     Example    tmp   mkdir foo  tmp   mkdir foo foo  tmp   touch foo foo foo txt  tmp   mkdir bar  tmp   cp --parents foo foo foo txt bar  tmp   ls bar foo foo foo txt

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Simply add the following in your  bashrc  tweak if you need  Works in Ubuntu   mkcp         test -d   2     mkdir -p   2      cp -r   1    2      E g If you want to copy  test  file to destination directory  d  Use   mkcp test a b c d   mkcp will first check if destination directory exists or not  if not then make it and copy source file directory

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Simple  cp -a    path to dst    should do the trick

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As suggested above by help asap and spongeman you can use the  install  command to copy files to existing directories or create create new destination directories if they don t already exist   Option 1 install -D filename some deep directory filename copies file to a new or existing directory and gives filename default 755 permissions  Option 2 install -D filename -m640 some deep directory filename as per Option 1 but gives filename 640 permissions   Option 3 install -D filename -m640 -t some deep directory  as per Option 2 but targets filename into target directory so filename does not need to be written in both source and target   Option 4 install -D filena  -m640 -t some deep directory  as per Option 3 but uses a wildcard for multiple files   It works nicely in Ubuntu and combines two steps  directory creation then file copy  into one single step

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I wrote a support script for cp  called CP  note capital letters  that s intended to do exactly this  Script will check for errors in the path you ve put in  except the last one which is the destination  and if all is well  it will do an mkdir -p step to create the destination path before starting the copy  At this point the regular cp utility takes over and any switches you use with CP  like -r  -p  -rpL gets piped directly to cp   Before you use my script  there are a few things you need to understand    all the info here can be accessed by doing CP --help  CP --help-all include s cp s switches  regular cp won t do the copy if it doesn t find the destination path  You don t have such a safety net for typos with CP  You re destination will be created  so if you misspell your destination as  usrr share icons or  usr share icon well that s what s going to be created   regular cp tends to model it s behavior on the existing path  cp  a b  c d will vary on whether d exists or not  if d is an existing  folder  cp will copy b into it  making  c d b  If d doesn t exist  b will be copied into c and renamed to d  If d exists but is a file and b is a file  it will be overwritten by b s copy  If c doesn t exist  cp doesn t do the copy and exits    CP doesn t have the luxury of taking cues from existing paths  so it has to have some very firm behavior patterns  CP assumes that the item you re copying is being dropped in the destination path and is not the destination itself  aka  a renamed copy of the source file folder   Meaning      CP  a b  c d  will result in  c d b if d is a folder          CP  a b  c b  will result in  c b b if b in  c b is a folder   If both b and d are files  CP  a b  c d will result in  c d  where d is a copy of b   Same for CP  a b  c b in the same circumstance    This default CP behavior can be changed with the  --rename  switch  In this case  it s assumed that     CP --rename  a b  c d  is copying b into  c and renaming the copy to d    A few closing notes  Like with cp  CP can copy multiple items at a time with the last path being listed assumed to be the destination  It can also handle paths with spaces as long as you use quotation marks    CP will check the paths you put in and make sure they exist before doing the copy  In strict mode  available through --strict switch   all files folders being copied must exist or no copy takes place  In relaxed mode  --relaxed   copy will continue if at least one of the items you listed exists  Relaxed mode is the default  you can change the mode temporarily via the switches or permanently by setting the variable easy going at the beginning of the script   Here s how to install it   In a non-root terminal  do   sudo echo  gt   usr bin CP  sudo chmod  x  usr bin CP  sudo touch  usr bin CP gedit admin    usr bin CP    In gedit  paste CP utility and save      bin bash  Regular cp works with the assumption that the destination path exists and if it doesn t  it will verify that it s parent directory does    eg  cp  a b  c d will give  c d b if folder path  c d already exists but will give  c d  where d is renamed copy of b  if  c d doesn t exists but  c does    CP works differently  provided that d in  c d isn t an existing file  it assumes that you re copying item into a folder path called  c d and will create it if it doesn t exist  so CP  a b  c d will always give  c d b unless d is an existing file  If you put the --rename switch  it will assume that you re copying into  c and renaming the singl item you re copying from b to d at the destination  Again  if  c doesn t exist  it will be created  So CP --rename  a b  c d will give a  c d and if there already a folder called  c d  contents of b will be merged into d     cp   source  destination  mkdir -p  foo bar  amp  amp  cp myfile       err 0   error count i 0  item counter  doesn t include destination  starts at 1  ex  item1  item2 etc  m 0  cp switch counter  starts at 1  switch 1  switch2  etc  n 1   argument counter  aka the arguments inputed into script  those include both switches and items  aka   1  2  3  4  5  count s 0 count i 0 easy going true  determines how you deal with bad pathes in your copy  true will allow copy to continue provided one of the items being copied exists  false will exit script for one bad path  this setting can also be changed via the custom switches  --strict and --not-strict verbal  -v      help                                                                                        n         CREATIVE COPY SCRIPT  CP  -- written by thebunnyrules       n                                                                                n      n This script  CP  note capital letters  is intended to supplement        n your system s regular cp command  note uncapped letters    n      n Script s function is to check if the destination path exists        n before starting the copy  If it doesn t it will be created  n          n To make this happen  CP assumes that the item you re copying is        n being dropped in the destination path and is not the destination       n itself  aka  a renamed copy of the source file folder   Meaning  n       n     CP  a b  c d   will result in  c d b        n   even if you write   CP  a b  c b    CP will create the path  a b         n   resulting in  c b b   n      n Of course  if  c b or  c d are existing files and  a b is also a       n file  the existing destination file will simply be overwritten         n This behavior can be changed with the   --rename   switch  In this       n case  it s assumed that   CP --rename  a b  c d   is copying b into  c         n and renaming the copy to d  n      n                                                                                      n        CP specific help  Switches and their Usages        n                                                                                n            n  --rename tSee above  Ignored if copying more than one item   n      n  --quiet tCP is verbose by default  This quiets it  n      n  --strict tIf one  of your files was not found  CP exits if       n t tyou use --rename switch with multiple items  CP        n t texits  n      n  --relaxed tIgnores bad paths unless they re all bad but warns       n t tyou about them  Ignores in-appropriate rename switch       n t twithout exiting  This is default behavior  You can        n t tmake strict the default behavior by editing the        n t tCP script and setting   n      n t teasy going false  n      n  --help-all tShows help specific to cp  in addition to CP     cp hlp   n nRegular cp command s switches will still work when using CP        nHere is the help out of the original cp command           n n                                                                                      n          cp specific help         n                                                                                n   outro1   n                                                                                     n                                                                                     n                                                                                     n        USE THIS SCRIPT WITH CARE  TYPOS WILL GIVE YOU PROBLEMS          n                                                                                     n                                HIT q TO EXIT                                        n                                                                                   count and classify arguments that were inputed into script  output help message if needed while true  do     eval input     n      in    input  1       if   -z   input  -a  n   1    then input  --help   fi       if     input     -h  -o   input     --help  -o   input     -   -o   input     --help-all     then         if     input     --help-all     then              echo -e   help  cp hlp  gt   tmp cp hlp              cp --help  gt  gt   tmp cp hlp             echo -e   outro1   gt  gt   tmp cp hlp             cat  tmp cp hlp less             cat  tmp cp hlp             rm  tmp cp hlp         else             echo -e   help    outro1  less             echo -e   help    outro1          fi         exit     fi      if   -z   input     then         count i   expr  count i - 1     remember  last item is destination and it s not included in cound         break      elif     in      -     then         count s   expr  count s   1       else         count i   expr  count i   1       fi     n   expr  n   1  done   error condition  no items to copy or no destination     if    count i -lt 0    then              echo  Error  You haven t listed any items for copying  Exiting     you didn t put any items for copying     elif    count i -lt 1    then             echo  Error  Copying usually involves a destination  Exiting     you put one item and no destination     fi   reset the counter and grab content of arguments  aka  switches and item paths n 1 while true  do         eval input     n   input  1  2  3 etc            in    input  1   first letter of  input          if     in      -     then             if     input     --rename     then                  rename true  my custom switches             elif     input     --strict     then                  easy going false  exit script if even one of the non-destinations item is not found             elif     input     --relaxed     then                  easy going true  continue script if at least one of the non-destination items is found             elif     input     --quiet     then                  verbal                else                  m   expr  m   1  eval switch m   input   input is a switch  if it s not one of the above  assume it belongs to cp                  switch list   switch list    input                fi                                           elif     -z   input     then  if it s not a switch and input is not empty  it s a path                 i   expr  i   1                  if     -f   input  -a   -d   input  -a   i  -le   count i     then                      err   expr  err   1    error list   error list npath does not exit    b                    else                     if     i  -le   count i     then                          eval item i   input                           item list   item list    input                        else                         destination   input   destination is last items entered                     fi                 fi         else             i 0             m 0             n 1                                  break         fi               n   expr  n   1  done   error condition  some or all item s  being copied don t exist  easy going  continue if at least one item exists  warn about rest  not easy going  exit   echo  err  err count i  count i  if     easy going     true -a  err -gt 0 -a  err     count i    then      echo  Some of the paths you entered are incorrect  Script is running in strict mode and will therefore exit       echo -e  Bad Paths   err  error list      exit fi  if    err    count i    then     echo  ALL THE PATHS you have entered are incorrect  Exiting       echo -e  Bad Paths   err  error list  fi   one item to one destination   ------------------------------  assumes that destination is folder  it does t exist  it will create it   so copying  a b c d firefox to  e f firefox will result in  e f firefox firefox  if -rename switch is given  will assume that the top element of destination path is the new name for the the item being given    multi-item to single destination   ------------------------------  assumes destination is a folder  gives error if it exists and it s a file  -rename switch will be ignored    ERROR CONDITIONS     - multiple items being sent to a destination and it s a file    - if -rename switch was given and multiple items are being copied  rename switch will be ignored  easy going   if not easy going  exit    - rename option but source is folder  destination is file  exit    - rename option but source is file and destination is folder  easy going  option ignored   if   -f   destination     then     if    count i -gt 1    then          echo  Error  You ve selected a single file as a destination and are copying multiple items to it  Exiting    exit     elif   -d   item1     then         echo  Error  Your destination is a file but your source is a folder  Exiting    exit     fi fi if     rename    true    then     if    count i -gt 1    then         if    easy going   true    then             echo  Warning  you choose the rename option but are copying multiple items  Ignoring Rename option  Continuing           else             echo  Error  you choose the rename option but are copying multiple items  Script running in strict mode  Exiting    exit         fi     elif   -d   destination  -a -f   item1     then         echo -n  Warning  you choose the rename option but source is a file and destination is a folder with the same name            if    easy going   true    then             echo  Ignoring Rename option  Continuing           else             echo  Script running in strict mode  Exiting    exit         fi     else         dest jr   dirname   destination           if   -d   destination     then item list   item1    fi         mkdir -p   dest jr      fi else     mkdir -p   destination  fi  eval cp  switch list  verbal  item list   destination   cp err      if     cp err     0    then      echo -e  Something went wrong with the copy operation   nExit Status   cp err  else      echo  Copy operation exited with no errors   fi  exit

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with all my respect for answers above  I prefer to use rsync as follow      rsync -a directory name  path where to inject your directory    example      rsync -a test  usr local lib

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i strongly suggest ditto  just works  ditto my location poop txt this doesnt exist yet poop txt

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Short Answer  To copy myfile txt to  foo bar myfile txt  use   mkdir -p  foo bar  amp  amp  cp myfile txt      How does this work   There s a few components to this  so I ll cover all the syntax step by step   The mkdir utility  as specified in the POSIX standard  makes directories  The -p argument  per the docs  will cause mkdir to     Create any missing intermediate pathname components   meaning that when calling mkdir -p  foo bar  mkdir will create  foo and  foo bar if  foo doesn t already exist   Without -p  it will instead throw an error   The  amp  amp  list operator  as documented in the POSIX standard  or the Bash manual if you prefer   has the effect that cp myfile txt    only gets executed if mkdir -p  foo bar executes successfully  This means the cp command won t try to execute if mkdir fails for one of the many reasons it might fail   Finally  the    we pass as the second argument to cp is a  special parameter  which can be handy for avoiding repeating long arguments  like file paths  without having to store them in a variable  Per the Bash manual  it      expands to the last argument to the previous command   In this case  that s the  foo bar we passed to mkdir  So the cp command expands to cp myfile txt  foo bar  which copies myfile txt into the newly created  foo bar directory   Note that    is not part of the POSIX standard  so theoretically a Unix variant might have a shell that doesn t support this construct  However  I don t know of any modern shells that don t support     certainly Bash  Dash  and zsh all do     A final note  the command I ve given at the start of this answer assumes that your directory names don t have spaces in  If you re dealing with names with spaces  you ll need to quote them so that the different words aren t treated as different arguments to mkdir or cp  So your command would actually look like   mkdir -p   my directory name with spaces   amp  amp  cp  my filename with spaces txt

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Just to resume and give a complete working solution  in one line  Be careful if you want to rename your file  you should include a way to provide a clean dir path to mkdir   fdst can be file or dir  Next code should work in any case   fsrc  tmp myfile unk fdst  tmp dir1 dir2 dir3 myfile txt mkdir -p   dirname   fdst    amp  amp  cp -p   fsrc    fdst    or bash specific  fsrc  tmp myfile unk fdst  tmp dir1 dir2 dir3 myfile txt mkdir -p   fdst      amp  amp  cp -p   fsrc    fdst

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cp has multiple usages     cp --help Usage  cp  OPTION      -T  SOURCE DEST   or   cp  OPTION     SOURCE    DIRECTORY   or   cp  OPTION     -t DIRECTORY SOURCE    Copy SOURCE to DEST  or multiple SOURCE s  to DIRECTORY     AndyRoss s answer works for the  cp SOURCE DEST   style of cp  but does the wrong thing if you use the  cp SOURCE    DIRECTORY    style of cp   I think that  DEST  is ambiguous without a trailing slash in this usage  i e  where the target directory doesn t yet exist   which is perhaps why cp has never added an option for this   So here s my version of this function which enforces a trailing slash on the dest dir   cp-p       last      -1     if       -ge 2  amp  amp    last             then       cp SOURCE    DEST      mkdir -p   last   amp  amp  cp        else     echo  cp-p   copy  creating parent dirs       echo  cp-p  Usage  cp-p SOURCE    DEST     fi

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Copy from source to an non existing path  mkdir    p  destination  amp  amp  cp    r  source       NOTE  this command copies all the files  cp    r for copying all folders and its content     work as destination which is created in last command

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Here s one way to do it   mkdir -p  dirname  path to copy file to is very deep there        amp  amp  cp -r file  path to copy file to is very deep there   dirname will give you the parent of the destination directory or file  mkdir -p  dirname      will then create that directory ensuring that when you call cp -r the correct base directory is in place   The advantage of this over --parents is that it works for the case where the last element in the destination path is a filename   And it ll work on OS X

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Such an old question  but maybe I can propose an alternative solution   You can use the install programme to copy your file and create the destination path  on the fly    install -D file  path to copy file to is very deep there file     There are some aspects to take in consideration  though    you need to specify also the destination file name  not only the destination path the destination file will be executable  at least  as far as I saw from my tests     You can easily amend the  2 by adding the -m option to set permissions on the destination file  example  -m 664 will create the destination file with permissions rw-rw-r--  just like creating a new file with touch      And here it is the shameless link to the answer I was inspired by

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This does it for me  cp -vaR   from   to

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rsync file  path to copy file to is very deep there   This might work  if you have the right kind of rsync

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Just had the same issue  My approach was to just tar the files into an archive like so    tar cf your archive tar file1  path to file2 path to even deeper file3  tar automatically stores the files in the appropriate structure within the archive  If you run   tar xf your archive tar   the files are extracted into the desired directory structure

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mkdir -p   d   amp  amp  cp file   d     there s no such option for cp

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Shell function that does what you want  calling it a  bury  copy because it digs a hole for the file to live in   bury copy     mkdir -p  dirname  2   amp  amp  cp   1    2

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Let s say you are doing something like     cp file1 txt A B C D file txt   where A B C D are directories which do not exist yet  A possible solution is as follows  DIR   dirname A B C D file txt    DIR   A B C D  mkdir -p  DIR cp file1 txt A B C D file txt   hope that helps

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You can use find with Perl  Command will be like this  find file   perl -lne   t    quot  path to copy file to is very deep there  quot                  mkdir -p  t 1  unless -d  quot  t 1 quot     cp     t    unless -f  quot  t   quot      This command will create directory  t if it doesn t exist  And than copy file into  t only unless file exists inside  t

[linux] Linux: copy and create destination dir if it does not exist

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