Copy file to backup directory preserving folder st

Question

I have to copy a file in a directory, to its backup directory, preserving the folder structure. E.g. the file aaa in MyFolder/Test/aaa to .MyFolder.bck/Test/aaa

I tried to use

cp --parents MyFolder/Test/aaa .MyFolder.bck;

But the result is .MyFolder.bck/MyFolder/Test/aaa and not .MyFolder.bck/Test/aaa (which is the one I want).

Answer 1

I like to use "rsync" for this.

rsync -av MyFolder/ .MyFolder.bck/

Make sure to use the trailing slashes, since they tell rsync that both of these arguments are the "top level" directories (that is, don't create another MyFolder inside of .MyFolder.bck).

Answer 2

Why don't you use two commands?

cd MyFolder && cp --parents /Test/aaa .MyFolder.bck;

And there are several synchronization utilities for Linux too, even for backup purposes, e.g. rsync, rdiff-backup, synkron... Not to mention the advantages of a local VCS... You should not reinvent the wheel.

Answer 3

You need to cd to the directory and then copy the file:

(cd MyFolder && cp --parents Test/aaa ../.MyFolder.bck)

The brackets around the command make it run in a subshell, rather than in your current shell. The advantage of this is that it saves you from having to cd back to the original directory afterwards.