github.com/robertojrojas/docker@v1.9.1/docs/reference/commandline/cp.md (about)

     1  <!--[metadata]>
     2  +++
     3  title = "cp"
     4  description = "The cp command description and usage"
     5  keywords = ["copy, container, files, folders"]
     6  [menu.main]
     7  parent = "smn_cli"
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     9  <![end-metadata]-->
    10  
    11  # cp
    12  
    13      Usage: docker cp [OPTIONS] CONTAINER:PATH LOCALPATH|-
    14             docker cp [OPTIONS] LOCALPATH|- CONTAINER:PATH
    15  
    16      Copy files/folders between a container and the local filesystem
    17  
    18        --help=false        Print usage
    19  
    20  In the first synopsis form, the `docker cp` utility copies the contents of
    21  `PATH` from the filesystem of `CONTAINER` to the `LOCALPATH` (or stream as
    22  a tar archive to `STDOUT` if `-` is specified).
    23  
    24  In the second synopsis form, the contents of `LOCALPATH` (or a tar archive
    25  streamed from `STDIN` if `-` is specified) are copied from the local machine to
    26  `PATH` in the filesystem of `CONTAINER`.
    27  
    28  You can copy to or from either a running or stopped container. The `PATH` can
    29  be a file or directory. The `docker cp` command assumes all `CONTAINER:PATH`
    30  values are relative to the `/` (root) directory of the container. This means
    31  supplying the initial forward slash is optional; The command sees
    32  `compassionate_darwin:/tmp/foo/myfile.txt` and
    33  `compassionate_darwin:tmp/foo/myfile.txt` as identical. If a `LOCALPATH` value
    34  is not absolute, is it considered relative to the current working directory.
    35  
    36  Behavior is similar to the common Unix utility `cp -a` in that directories are
    37  copied recursively with permissions preserved if possible. Ownership is set to
    38  the user and primary group on the receiving end of the transfer. For example,
    39  files copied to a container will be created with `UID:GID` of the root user.
    40  Files copied to the local machine will be created with the `UID:GID` of the
    41  user which invoked the `docker cp` command.
    42  
    43  Assuming a path separator of `/`, a first argument of `SRC_PATH` and second
    44  argument of `DST_PATH`, the behavior is as follows:
    45  
    46  - `SRC_PATH` specifies a file
    47      - `DST_PATH` does not exist
    48          - the file is saved to a file created at `DST_PATH`
    49      - `DST_PATH` does not exist and ends with `/`
    50          - Error condition: the destination directory must exist.
    51      - `DST_PATH` exists and is a file
    52          - the destination is overwritten with the contents of the source file
    53      - `DST_PATH` exists and is a directory
    54          - the file is copied into this directory using the basename from
    55            `SRC_PATH`
    56  - `SRC_PATH` specifies a directory
    57      - `DST_PATH` does not exist
    58          - `DST_PATH` is created as a directory and the *contents* of the source
    59             directory are copied into this directory
    60      - `DST_PATH` exists and is a file
    61          - Error condition: cannot copy a directory to a file
    62      - `DST_PATH` exists and is a directory
    63          - `SRC_PATH` does not end with `/.`
    64              - the source directory is copied into this directory
    65          - `SRC_PATH` does end with `/.`
    66              - the *content* of the source directory is copied into this
    67                directory
    68  
    69  The command requires `SRC_PATH` and `DST_PATH` to exist according to the above
    70  rules. If `SRC_PATH` is local and is a symbolic link, the symbolic link, not
    71  the target, is copied.
    72  
    73  A colon (`:`) is used as a delimiter between `CONTAINER` and `PATH`, but `:`
    74  could also be in a valid `LOCALPATH`, like `file:name.txt`. This ambiguity is
    75  resolved by requiring a `LOCALPATH` with a `:` to be made explicit with a
    76  relative or absolute path, for example:
    77  
    78      `/path/to/file:name.txt` or `./file:name.txt`
    79  
    80  It is not possible to copy certain system files such as resources under
    81  `/proc`, `/sys`, `/dev`, and mounts created by the user in the container.
    82  
    83  Using `-` as the first argument in place of a `LOCALPATH` will stream the
    84  contents of `STDIN` as a tar archive which will be extracted to the `PATH` in
    85  the filesystem of the destination container. In this case, `PATH` must specify
    86  a directory.
    87  
    88  Using `-` as the second argument in place of a `LOCALPATH` will stream the
    89  contents of the resource from the source container as a tar archive to
    90  `STDOUT`.