cp command.To create copy a file or folder, execute the following terminal command [how?]:
cp original-file.txt copy-of-file.txtWhere original-file.txt refers to the file or folder that you want to copy, and copy-of-file.txt refers to where the copy will be created. See [How to Refer to Files and Folders using the Terminal on Linux Mint] for how to write this filename argument.
Danger: cp will OVERWRITE the target file if it already exists. For example, cp new-file.txt important-file.txt will overwrite important-file.txt with the contents of new-file.txt. Notably, this action doesn't delete the file and replace it by a new file, but modifies it in place, meaning that additional hard links will be affected as well.
Tip: you can copy one or more files into a folder by having the last argument refer to a directory.
cp task-1.txt task-2.txt task-3.txt completed-tasksAbove, the files tasks-{1,2,3}.txt files will be copied to the completed-tasks folder. Similarly, you could use Bash's expansions and globbing like cp tasks-{1,2,3}.txt completed-tasks or cp tasks-*.txt completed-tasks to achieve the same result.
Questions and Answers
Does Copying a Directory Copy Its Contents?
Yes. All descendants of the directory will be copied, including contents of subdirectories.
What Happens if The Target of cp Already Exists?
If you cp a file to the filepath of an existing file, the file will be overwritten.
What Happens if The Target of cp is a Symlink?
If the target of cp is a symlink that points to a non-existing file you get the error "cp: not writing through dangling symlink 'target'." However, if the symlink points to an existing file, it overwrites the symlinked file.