# Linux Copy Folder with Files Using the cp Command

> Copy a folder and its contents to another location in Linux using cp -a for recursive copying with preserved permissions, symlinks, and hidden files

**URL:** https://sentry.io/answers/copy-folder-with-files-to-another-folder-in-linux/

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## The Problem

How can I copy a folder containing files to another folder in Linux or another Unix-based operating system using the command line?

## The Solution

The `cp` command takes a source followed by a destination argument. To copy a folder with its contents, we must perform a recursive copy. We can do the following:

```bash
cp -a source/. destination/
```

The `-a` flag is equivalent to `-dr --preserve=all`. This does the following:

* `-r` will copy all folder contents recursively.
* `-d` will preserve symlinks.
* `--preserve=all` will preserve all file attributes, such as ownership, permissions, and timestamps.

In the command, we use `source/.` instead of `source` to take advantage of [Bash globbing](https://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/globbingref.html) and ensure we copy any hidden files or folders, which would be missed if we just used `source`.

To read more about `cp`, type `man cp` into your terminal.

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*Source: [sentry.io/answers/copy-folder-with-files-to-another-folder-in-linux/](https://sentry.io/answers/copy-folder-with-files-to-another-folder-in-linux/)*