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linuxshell
Catherine Pierce
Catherine Pierce

Reputation: 53

copying file into directory; Shell, Linux

I am trying to copy a file under path: 

dir1/dir2/dir3/file

into a directory with path:

dir7/dir9/dir10

I am using the cp command like this: 

cp dir1/dir2/dir3/file dir7/dir9/dir10

But I get the error: 

cannot create regular file 'dir7/dir9/dir10': No such file or directory

But the directory definitely exists. I am so confused, what am I doing wrong?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 142

Answers (2)

Corrupted MyStack
Corrupted MyStack

Reputation: 451

You are getting an error because dir10 does not exist. Linux is trying to copy a file into a folder that has not yet been created. You will have to run the following command first: 

    mkdir -p dir7/dir9/dir10
    cp dir1/dir2/dir3/file dir7/dir9/dir10

Upvotes: 0

mreiterer
mreiterer

Reputation: 556

Always use absolute directory paths if you are not certain about relative path.

In your case, if dir7/dir9/dir10 lies in / directory then provide full path to cp command like,

cp dir1/dir2/dir3/file /dir7/dir9/dir10

if it lies in /home/usr/ directory then provide it as,

cp dir1/dir2/dir3/file /home/usr/dir7/dir9/dir10

This applies to first argument also,

cp <absolute path> <absolute path>

Upvotes: 3

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