====== Copy Files and Folders in Windows CMD with Copy and Xcopy ======
Source: [[https://www.configserverfirewall.com/windows-10/copy-files-and-folders-in-windows-cmd/]]


==== Copy Command ====

On Windows, we can use the copy command to copy one or more files from one location to another:

<code>copy C:\data\sales.doc C:\backup</code>
The preceding command will copy sales.doc from C:\data\ to C:\backup.

Use the /y switch to overwrite duplicate files without confirmation:

<code>copy /y C:\data\sales.doc C:\backup</code>
We can also save a file to a different name. For example, the following command saves file1.txt as file2.txt in the same directory:

<code>copy file1.txt file2.txt</code>
You can also use wildcards to copy multiple files:

<code>copy /y C:\data\* C:\backup
copy /y C:\data\*.doc C:\backup</code>
The first command copies all files in the C:\data\ directory to C:\backup. The second command copies all files with a .doc extension to the C:\backup.

windows copy command
We can also combine several files into one:

<code>copy file1+file2 file3
copy error* C:\backup\report.txt</code>
In the first line, file1 and file2 are combined to make one file named file3. In the second line, all files whose names start with "error" are copied to the C:\backup, as a single file called report.txt.

You can get a list of all available options with the copy /? command.

==== Xcopy Command ====

The xcopy command offers more features. For example, with xcopy, we can copy directories and subdirectories, as well as hidden files.

Command Options
/Y	Prompt before overwriting an existing file.
/H	Copy hidden files/system files.
/S	Copy directories and subdirectories. Empty directories are not included by default (use /e for that).
/E	Include empty directories.
/I	Create the destination folder if it does not exist. Use this option when you want to copy the parent folder itself.
/T	Copy directory tree without files. Empty directories are not included by default. Use /e option to include empty folders.
/P	Prompt for confirmation before creating each file.
/Q	Quiet mode.
/exclude	Specify a text file that contains a list of files to exclude. See the examples.
/Z	Resume mode. Use this option when copying files over a network.
/D:m-d-y	Copies files changed on or after the specified date.
Examples of Using the Xcopy Command
Copy sales.doc from the current directory to C:\backup:

<code>xcopy sales.doc C:\backup</code>
Copy C:\data\accounts (all files including subdirectories) to C:\backup:

<code>xcopy /s /e /h /i /y C:\data\accounts C:\backup\accounts
xcopy command</code>
In the following example (without /I switch), the contents of the folder are copied but not the folder itself:

<code>xcopy /s /e /h /y C:\data\accounts C:\backup\</code>
Copy the directory structure of C:\OneDrive to the backup directory:

<code>xcopy /s /e /t /y C:\OneDrive C:\backup\</code>
You can use wildcard characters to match patterns. The following command copies all files with a .jpg extension:

<code>xcopy /s /h /y C:\data\*.jpg C:\backup</code>
Using for loop to copy multiple files:

<code>for %i in (sales.doc, products.doc) do xcopy /y %i C:\backup</code>
Excluding files with xcopy
With the /exclude, we can provide a text file that contains items we want to exclude.

<code>xcopy /s /e /h /y /exclude:C:\Users\user1\files-to-exclude.txt C:\data\ C:\backup\</code>
The files-to-exclude.txt may look like the following:

.doc
sales*
In this example, we exclude items with the .doc extension and files whose name starts with sales.

You can get a list of all available options with the xcopy /? command.