You can use cp with the -r (copy recursively) flag and specify the new directory name:

cp -r /path/to/directory /path/to/location/new-name

In the above command replace the given paths with the real ones.

For example, to copy stuff from my home directory to an existing directory named backup and name the new directory stuff-backup (if this directory already exists, note that stuff will be copied into it, not overwrite it), you run:

cp -r ~/stuff ~/backup/stuff-backup

~ is a shortcut for your home directory /home/$USER or /home/zanna in my case. You can omit it if the current working directory is your home directory - you can see this from your prompt

zanna@monster:~$
              ^--the ~ here is where I am - home!

You can add the -v (verbose) flag to make cp report each copy being performed:

$ cp -vr stuff backup/stuff-backup
'stuff/thing1' -> 'backup/stuff-backup/thing1'
'stuff/thing2' -> 'backup/stuff-backup/thing2
...

What you want is:

cp -R t1/. t2/

The dot at the end tells it to copy the contents of the current directory, not the directory itself. This method also includes hidden files and folders.

The tool you are likely looking for is rsync, a standard tool on many Linux platforms. When used with the appropriate options, it can for all purposes make a 1-to-1 copy of a source directory to a target.

rsync -aHSAX -ih --progress /path/to/source_dir/ /path/to/target_dir

This will copy the entire content of the directory source_dir to the target_dir, while preserving users, permissions, timestamps, ACLs and extended attributes (thanks to @K-att- for reminding me of the last two) and copy symlinks as symlinks. Note that the filesystem of your copy target has to support the same attributes as the filesystem where the source resides, otherwise you will get error messages.

If you want to copy the containing directory source_dir too (i.e. you end up with a newly-created directory target_dir/source_dir/), then you need to omit the trailing / on source_dir/.

Another approach is to use cp with appropriate options.

cp -r --preserve=all /path/to/source_dir /path/to/target_dir

will also copy recursively and preserve all supported attributes (owner, permissions, timestamps, ACLs, SELinux context, extended attributes).

cp -r ./SourceFolder ./DestFolder

In most cases it doesn't matter. Instead, 'cp' decides based on whether the destination exists.

Assuming the source is always a directory, and you're using either cp -r or cp -a:

1. If the source is a symlink to a directory, then the trailing slash after the source is important. Without it, you'd be only copying the symlink itself and not the directory it points to.

   If the source isn't a symlink, the trailing slash after the source doesn't matter to 'cp'.

2. If the target points to an existing directory, then the whole source directory will be copied into the target. That is, cp -r abc def will cause def/abc/text.txt to be created. Trailing slashes on the source nor the destination do not matter.

   If the target doesn't exist, then the source directory will be copied as the target. That is, cp -r abc def will only create def/text.txt. Trailing slashes don't affect anything here, either.

The 2nd "rule" can be annoying, as it seems like you cannot copy an existing directory's contents directly into another directory without resorting to something like abc/* (which will miss hidden files), etc.

However, an easy way to achieve that is to specify . as the last path component – this will trick cp into "creating" a . in the destination:

cp -r /some/path/. /another/path

Trailing slash on the destination still doesn't matter.

(Note that these rules are not universal for all programs; in particular, rsync behaves differently and trailing slashes indeed tell it whether to copy the whole directory or only its contents.)

In short:

• If you want to copy the directory whole, ensure the destination already exists (pre-create it using mkdir).
• If you want to copy the directory's contents, make sure to end the source with /. (slash + dot) (like the website).

cp -r /path/to/someDirA/folderTwo /path/to/someDirB/

The -r option to cp tells it to recurse on directories, copying its contents.

You can copy the contents of a folder /source to another existing folder /dest with the command:

cp -a /source/. /dest/

The -a option is an improved recursive option, that preserves all file attributes and symlinks.

The . at end of the source path is a specific cp syntax that copies all files and folders, including hidden ones.

Try:

cp -ra /backup/olduser/. /home/newuser

advanced cp

cp -r /home/username/A/. /usr/lib/B/

This is especially great because it works no matter whether the target directory already exists.

shell globbing

If there are not too many objects in the directory then you can use shell globbing:

mkdir -p /usr/lib/B/
shopt -s dotglob
cp -r /home/username/A/* /usr/lib/B/

rsync

rsync -a /home/username/A/ /usr/lib/B/

The / at the end of the source path is important; works no matter whether the target directory already exists.

find

mkdir -p /usr/lib/B/
find /home/username/A/ -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -exec cp -r -t /usr/lib/B/ {} +

or if you don't need empty subdirectories:

find /home/username/A/ -mindepth 1 -type f -exec cp --parents -t /usr/lib/B/ {} +

(without mkdir)