How to Copy a File to Another Directory in Ubuntu Terminal

This article provides a concise explanation of the command line syntax used to copy a single file to a different directory in Ubuntu. It covers the essential structure of the copy command, provides a clear example, and explains the required arguments to ensure successful file duplication.

To copy a single file in Ubuntu, you use the cp command followed by the source file path and the destination directory path. The basic syntax is straightforward and requires only these two specific locations to function correctly.

cp [source_file] [destination_directory]

For example, if you want to copy a file named report.txt from your current folder to the Documents folder, you would type the following command:

cp report.txt /home/username/Documents/

In this example, report.txt is the source file you wish to duplicate, and /home/username/Documents/ is the target directory where the copy will be saved. The original file remains in its current location while a new copy appears in the destination folder. If you encounter permission errors while copying to system directories, you may need to precede the command with sudo.