DOC HOME SITE MAP MAN PAGES GNU INFO SEARCH PRINT BOOK
 

(cpio.info.gz) Options

Info Catalog (cpio.info.gz) Copy-pass mode (cpio.info.gz) Invoking cpio
 
 3.4 Options
 ===========
 
 `-0'
 `--null'
      Read a list of filenames terminated by a null character, instead
      of a newline, so that files whose names contain newlines can be
      archived.  GNU find is one way to produce a list of
      null-terminated filenames.  This option may be used in copy-out
      and copy-pass modes.
 
 `-a'
 `--reset-access-time'
      Reset the access times of files after reading them, so that it
      does not look like they have just been read.
 
 `-A'
 `--append'
      Append to an existing archive.  Only works in copy-out mode.  The
      archive must be a disk file specified with the `-O' or `-F'
      (`--file') option.
 
 `-b'
 `--swap'
      Swap both halfwords of words and bytes of halfwords in the data.
      Equivalent to -sS.  This option may be used in copy-in mode.  Use
      this option to convert 32-bit integers between big-endian and
      little-endian machines.
 
 `-B'
      Set the I/O block size to 5120 bytes.  Initially the block size is
      512 bytes.
 
 `--block-size=BLOCK-SIZE'
      Set the I/O block size to BLOCK-SIZE * 512 bytes.
 
 `-c'
      Use the old portable (ASCII) archive format.
 
 `-C IO-SIZE'
 `--io-size=IO-SIZE'
      Set the I/O block size to IO-SIZE bytes.
 
 `-d'
 `--make-directories'
      Create leading directories where needed.
 
 `-E FILE'
 `--pattern-file=FILE'
      Read additional patterns specifying filenames to extract or list
      from FILE.  The lines of FILE are treated as if they had been
      non-option arguments to cpio.  This option is used in copy-in mode,
 
 `-f'
 `--nonmatching'
      Only copy files that do not match any of the given patterns.
 
 `-F ARCHIVE'
 `--file=ARCHIVE'
      Archive filename to use instead of standard input or output.  To
      use a tape drive on another machine as the archive, use a filename
      that starts with `HOSTNAME:', where HOSTNAME is the name or IP
      address of the machine.  The hostname can be preceded by a
      username and an `@' to access the remote tape drive as that user,
      if you have permission to do so (typically an entry in that user's
      `~/.rhosts' file).
 
 `--force-local'
      With `-F', `-I', or `-O', take the archive file name to be a local
      file even if it contains a colon, which would ordinarily indicate
      a remote host name.
 
 `-H FORMAT'
 `--format=FORMAT'
      Use archive format FORMAT.  The valid formats are listed below;
      the same names are also recognized in all-caps.  The default in
      copy-in mode is to automatically detect the archive format, and in
      copy-out mode is `bin'.
 
     `bin'
           The obsolete binary format.
 
     `odc'
           The old (POSIX.1) portable format.
 
     `newc'
           The new (SVR4) portable format, which supports file systems
           having more than 65536 i-nodes.
 
     `crc'
           The new (SVR4) portable format with a checksum added.
 
     `tar'
           The old tar format.
 
     `ustar'
           The POSIX.1 tar format.  Also recognizes GNU tar archives,
           which are similar but not identical.
 
     `hpbin'
           The obsolete binary format used by HPUX's cpio (which stores
           device files differently).
 
     `hpodc'
           The portable format used by HPUX's cpio (which stores device
           files differently).
 
 `-i'
 `--extract'
      Run in copy-in mode.   Copy-in mode.
 
 `-I ARCHIVE'
      Archive filename to use instead of standard input.  To use a tape
      drive on another machine as the archive, use a filename that
      starts with `HOSTNAME:', where HOSTNAME is the name or IP address
      of the remote host.  The hostname can be preceded by a username
      and an `@' to access the remote tape drive as that user, if you
      have permission to do so (typically an entry in that user's
      `~/.rhosts' file).
 
 `-k'
      Ignored; for compatibility with other versions of cpio.
 
 `-l'
 `--link'
      Link files instead of copying them, when possible.
 
 `-L'
 `--dereference'
      Copy the file that a symbolic link points to, rather than the
      symbolic link itself.
 
 `-m'
 `--preserve-modification-time'
      Retain previous file modification times when creating files.
 
 `-M MESSAGE'
 `--message=MESSAGE'
      Print MESSAGE when the end of a volume of the backup media (such
      as a tape or a floppy disk) is reached, to prompt the user to
      insert a new volume.  If MESSAGE contains the string `%d', it is
      replaced by the current volume number (starting at 1).
 
 `-n'
 `--numeric-uid-gid'
      Show numeric UID and GID instead of translating them into names
      when using the `--verbose' option.
 
 `--no-absolute-filenames'
      Create all files relative to the current directory in copy-in
      mode, even if they have an absolute file name in the archive.
 
 `--no-preserve-owner'
      Do not change the ownership of the files; leave them owned by the
      user extracting them.  This is the default for non-root users, so
      that users on System V don't inadvertantly give away files.  This
      option can be used in copy-in mode and copy-pass mode
 
 `-o'
 `--create'
      Run in copy-out mode.   Copy-out mode.
 
 `-O ARCHIVE'
      Archive filename to use instead of standard output.  To use a tape
      drive on another machine as the archive, use a filename that
      starts with `HOSTNAME:', where HOSTNAME is the name or IP address
      of the machine.  The hostname can be preceded by a username and an
      `@' to access the remote tape drive as that user, if you have
      permission to do so (typically an entry in that user's `~/.rhosts'
      file).
 
 `--only-verify-crc'
      Verify the CRC's of each file in the archive, when reading a CRC
      format archive. Don't actually extract the files.
 
 `-p'
 `--pass-through'
      Run in copy-pass mode.   Copy-pass mode.
 
 `--quiet'
      Do not print the number of blocks copied.
 
 `-r'
 `--rename'
      Interactively rename files.
 
 `-R OWNER'
 `--owner OWNER'
      In copy-in and copy-pass mode, set the ownership of all files
      created to the specified OWNER (this operation is allowed only for
      the super-user). In copy-out mode, store the supplied owner
      information in the archive.
 
      The argument can be either the user name or the user name and
      group name, separated by a dot or a colon, or the group name,
      preceeded by a dot or a colon, as shown in the examples below:
 
           cpio --owner smith
           cpio --owner smith:
           cpio --owner smith:users
           cpio --owner :users
 
      If the group is omitted but the `:' or `.' separator is given, as
      in the second example. the given user's login group will be used.
 
 `--rsh-command=COMMAND'
      Notifies cpio that is should use COMMAND to communicate with remote
      devices.
 
 `-s'
 `--swap-bytes'
      Swap the bytes of each halfword (pair of bytes) in the files. This
      option can be used in copy-in mode.
 
 `-S'
 `--swap-halfwords'
      Swap the halfwords of each word (4 bytes) in the files.  This
      option may be used in copy-in mode.
 
 `--sparse'
      Write files with large blocks of zeros as sparse files.  This
      option is used in copy-in and copy-pass modes.
 
 `-t'
 `--list'
      Print a table of contents of the input.
 
 `--to-stdout'
      Extract files to standard output.  This option may be used in
      copy-in mode.
 
 `-u'
 `--unconditional'
      Replace all files, without asking whether to replace existing
      newer files with older files.
 
 `-v'
 `--verbose'
      List the files processed, or with `-t', give an `ls -l' style
      table of contents listing.  In a verbose table of contents of a
      ustar archive, user and group names in the archive that do not
      exist on the local system are replaced by the names that
      correspond locally to the numeric UID and GID stored in the
      archive.
 
 `-V'
 `--dot'
      Print a `.' for each file processed.
 
 `--version'
      Print the cpio program version number and exit.
 
Info Catalog (cpio.info.gz) Copy-pass mode (cpio.info.gz) Invoking cpio
automatically generated byinfo2html