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linuxshellubuntudirectorycp

LINUX CP: I need to copy all files from one directory to another without copying any sub-directories

I need to copy files from one directory to another without copying any sub-directories. The number and name of sub-directories is dynamic so I cannot "--exclude" specific directories or use the "-r" option. How can I exclude all sub-directories?

CODE1:

cp '/media/lm1/My Passport/OneDrive/Music/Yes/*.*' '/home/lm1/Music/Archive'

RESULT1:

p: cannot stat '/media/lm1/My Passport/OneDrive/Music/Yes/*.*': No such file or directory

CODE2:

cp '/media/lm1/My Passport/OneDrive/Music/Yes/*' '/home/lm1/Music/Archive'

RESULT2:

p: cannot stat '/media/lm1/My Passport/OneDrive/Music/Yes/*': No such file or directory

CODE3:

cp '/media/lm1/My Passport/OneDrive/Music/Yes' '/home/lm1/Music/Archive'

RESULT3:

cp: -r not specified; omitting directory '/media/lm1/My Passport/OneDrive/Music/Yes'
Solution

  • Glob patterns (the wildcard *.*) don't work within quotes, but you can move the glob outside the quotes like so:

    cp '/media/lm1/My Passport/OneDrive/Music/Yes/'*.* '/home/lm1/Music/Archive'