How To Copy Only Files (Not Folders) from One Folder to Another in Linux

Linux, a powerful and versatile operating system, provides users with a wide range of commands to manage files and directories. One common task is copying files from one directory to another. However, sometimes, you may want to copy only files and not folders. In this article, we will explore how to accomplish this task using the command line in Linux.

Understanding the Basic Copy Command

The basic command used to copy files in Linux is cp. The general syntax of the cp command is as follows:

cp source destination

Here, source is the file you want to copy, and destination is the location where you want to copy the file. If you try to copy a directory using the cp command without any options, you will get an error because cp can only copy files by default, not directories.

However, if you use the -R or -r option (which stands for “recursive”), cp will copy directories as well. For instance, cp -R sourceDir destDir will copy both files and directories from sourceDir to destDir.

Copying Only Files, Not Folders

To copy only files and not folders, we can use the find command in combination with the cp command. The find command is used to search for files in a directory hierarchy. Here’s how you can use it:

find sourceDir/ -type f -exec cp {} destDir/ \;

Let’s break down this command:

• find sourceDir/ – This tells the find command to search in the sourceDir directory.
• -type f – This option tells find to search for files only.
• -exec cp {} destDir/ \; – This part of the command is executed for each file that find locates. The {} is replaced by the current file name. The \; at the end of the command is used to terminate the -exec option.

This command will copy all the files from sourceDir to destDir, but it will not copy any subdirectories.

Optimizing the Copy Command

The above command calls cp for each file found. This can be inefficient if you’re dealing with a large number of files. To optimize this, you can use the -t option with cp to specify the destination directory:

find sourceDir/ -type f -exec cp -t destDir/ {} +

The + at the end of the command replaces {} with as many file names as possible, reducing the number of times cp is called.

Limiting the Search to the Top-Level Directory

By default, the find command will search for files in sourceDir and all its subdirectories. If you only want to copy files from the top-level directory, you can add the -maxdepth 1 option:

find sourceDir/ -maxdepth 1 -type f -exec cp -t destDir/ {} +

The -maxdepth 1 option tells find to only search in the top-level directory and not in any subdirectories.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve covered how to copy only files (not folders) from one folder to another in Linux. While the cp command is a powerful tool for copying files and directories, the find command provides the flexibility to selectively copy only files. By understanding and combining these commands, you can have more control over your file management tasks in Linux.

Remember, always be careful when using commands that modify files, especially when using the command line as root or with sudo. Always double-check your commands before executing them. For more information on the cp and find commands, you can check their man pages by typing man cp or man find in the terminal.

Happy Linuxing!