How to Copy a File to Multiple Directories in Linux?


Did you get to take one file on a Linux or Unix approach and replicate it to a whole bunch of alternative directories? Then, this article is for you to copy a file to multiple directories in Linux/Ubuntu.

Using with cp and xargs

To copy a file to multiple directories in Linux/Ubuntu, use the following in command –

$ echo dir1 dir2 dir3 | xargs -n 1 cp file1

In the above command, we are copying file1 to dir1,dir2, and dir3 directories.The sample example of the above command is as shown below −

$ echo Music Videos Desktop | xargs -n 1 cp httpstat.py

In the above command, we are copying httpstat.py file to Music, Videos, and Desktop directories. To verify the above command, use the following command –

$ cd Music
~/Music$ ls

The sample output should be like this –

httpstat.py

Another sample to verify the above command is as shown below –

$ cd Desktop
~/Desktop$ ls

The sample output should be like this –

httpstat.py

Using with cp and find

To copy a file to multiple directories in Linux/Ubuntu, use the following in command –

find dir1 dir2 dir3 -type d -exec cp file1 {} \;

The above command finds dir1,dir2, and dir3 directories and copy file1 to those directories.The sample example is as shown below –

$ find Music Desktop -type d -exec cp httpstat.py {} \;

In the above command, we are copying httpstat.py file to Music and Desktop directories. To verify the above command, use the following command –

$ cd Desktop
~/Desktop$ ls

The sample output should be like this –

httpstat.py

Another sample to verify the above command is as shown below –

$ cd Music
~/Music$ ls

The sample output should be like this –

httpstat.py

In the above article, we have learnt – How to Copy a File to multiple directories in Linux. In our next articles, we will come up with more Linux based tricks and tips. Keep reading!

Samual Sam
Samual Sam

Learning faster. Every day.

Updated on: 28-Jan-2020

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