NAME
    cpio - copy files to and from archives

SYNOPSIS
    cpio {-o|--create} [-0acvABLV] [-C bytes] [-H format] [-M message] [-O
    [[user@]host:]archive]   [-F  [[user@]host:]archive]
    [--file=[[user@]host:]archive] [--format=format] [--message=message]
    [--null] [--reset-access-time] [--verbose] [--dot] [--append] [--block-
    size=blocks]  [--dereference]   [--io-size=bytes]    [--quiet]
    [--force-local] [--rsh-command=command] [--help]  [--version] <  name-
    list [> archive]

    cpio {-i|--extract} [-bcdfmnrtsuvBSV] [-C bytes] [-E file] [-H format]
    [-M message] [-R [user][:.][group]] [-I [[user@]host:]archive] [-F
    [[user@]host:]archive] [--file=[[user@]host:]archive] [--make-directo-
    ries] [--nonmatching] [--preserve-modification-time] [--numeric-uid-
    gid] [--rename] [-t|--list] [--swap-bytes] [--swap] [--dot] [--uncondi-
    tional] [--verbose] [--block-size=blocks] [--swap-halfwords] [--io-
    size=bytes]    [--pattern-file=file]    [--format=format]
    [--owner=[user][:.][group]] [--no-preserve-owner] [--message=message]
    [--force-local]  [--no-absolute-filenames]  [--sparse]  [--only-ver-
    ify-crc] [--quiet] [--rsh-command=command] [--help] [--version]  [pat-
    tern...] [< archive]

    cpio {-p|--pass-through} [-0adlmuvLV] [-R [user][:.][group]] [--null]
    [--reset-access-time] [--make-directories] [--link] [--quiet] [--pre-
    serve-modification-time]   [--unconditional] [--verbose]  [--dot]
    [--dereference]  [--owner=[user][:.][group]]  [--no-preserve-owner]
    [--sparse] [--help] [--version] destination-directory < name-list

DESCRIPTION
    This manual page documents the GNU version of cpio. cpio copies files
    into or out of a cpio or tar archive, which is a file that contains
    other files plus information about them, such as their file name,
    owner, timestamps, and access permissions. The archive can be another
    file on the disk, a magnetic tape, or a pipe. cpio has three operating
    modes.

    In copy-out mode, cpio copies files into an archive. It reads a list
    of filenames, one per  line, on the standard input, and writes the
    archive onto the standard output. A typical way to generate the list
    of filenames is with the find command; you should give find the -depth
    option to minimize problems with permissions on directories that are
    unwritable or not searchable.

    In copy-in mode, cpio  copies  files out of an archive or lists the
    archive contents. It reads the archive from the standard input.  Any
    non-option command line arguments are shell globbing patterns; only
    files in the archive whose names match one or more of those patterns
    are copied from the archive. Unlike in the shell, an initial `.' in a
    filename does match a wildcard at the start of a pattern, and a `/' in
    a filename can  match wildcards. If no patterns are given, all files
    are extracted.

    In copy-pass mode, cpio  copies  files from one directory tree to
    another,  combining the  copy-out and copy-in steps without actually
    using an archive. It reads the list of files to copy from the standard
    input; the directory into which it will copy them is given as a non-
    option argument.

    cpio supports the following archive formats: binary, old ASCII, new
    ASCII, crc, HPUX binary, HPUX old ASCII, old tar, and POSIX.1 tar. The
    binary format is obsolete because it encodes information about the
    files in a way that is not portable between different machine architec-
    tures. The old ASCII format is  portable between different machine
    architectures, but should not be used on file systems with more than
    65536 i-nodes. The new ASCII format is portable between different
    machine architectures and can be used on any size file system, but is
    not supported by all versions of cpio; currently, it is only supported
    by GNU and Unix System V R4. The crc format is like the new ASCII for-
    mat, but also contains a checksum for each file which cpio calculates
    when creating an archive and verifies when the file is extracted from
    the archive. The HPUX formats are provided for compatibility with
    HPUX's cpio which stores device files differently.

    The tar format is provided for compatability with the tar program. It
    can not be used to archive files with names longer than 100 characters,
    and can  not be used to archive "special" (block or character devices)
    files. The POSIX.1 tar format can not be used to archive files with
    names longer than 255 characters (less unless they have a "/" in just
    the right place).

    By default, cpio creates binary format archives, for compatibility with
    older cpio programs. When extracting from archives, cpio automatically
    recognizes which kind of archive it is reading and can read archives
    created on machines with a different byte-order.

    Some of the options to cpio apply only to certain operating modes; see
    the SYNOPSIS section for a list of which options are allowed in  which
    modes.

 OPTIONS
    -0, --null
    In copy-out and copy-pass modes, read a list of filenames termi-
    nated by a null character instead of a newline, so that  files
    whose names contain newlines can be archived. GNU find is one
    way to produce a list of null-terminated filenames.

    -a, --reset-access-time
    Reset the access times of files after reading them, so that it
    does not look like they have just been read.

    -A, --append
    Append to an existing archive. Only works in copy-out mode.
    The archive must be a disk file specified  with the -O or -F
    (--file) option.

    -b, --swap
    In copy-in mode, swap both halfwords of words and bytes of half-
    words in the data. Equivalent to -sS. Use this option to con-
    vert  32-bit integers between big-endian and  little-endian
    machines.

    -B   Set the I/O block size to 5120 bytes. Initially the block size
    is 512 bytes.

    --block-size=BLOCK-SIZE
    Set the I/O block size to BLOCK-SIZE * 512 bytes.

    -c   Identical  to "-H newc", use the new (SVR4) portable format. If
    you wish the old portable (ASCII) archive format, use "-H odc"
    instead.

    -C IO-SIZE, --io-size=IO-SIZE
    Set the I/O block size to IO-SIZE bytes.

    -d, --make-directories
    Create leading directories where needed.

    -E FILE, --pattern-file=FILE
    In copy-in mode, read additional patterns specifying filenames
    to extract or list from FILE. The lines of FILE are treated as
    if they had been non-option arguments to cpio.

    -f, --nonmatching
    Only copy files that do not match any of the given patterns.

    -F, --file=archive
    Archive filename to use instead of standard input or output. To
    use a tape drive on another machine as the archive, use a  file-
    name that starts with `HOSTNAME:'. The hostname can be preceded
    by a username and an `@' to access the remote tape drive as that
    user, if  you have permission to do so (typically an entry in
    that user's `~/.rhosts' file).

    --force-local
    With -F, -I, or -O, take the archive file name to be a  local
    file even if it contains a colon, which would ordinarily indi-
    cate a remote host name.

    -H FORMAT, --format=FORMAT
    Use archive format FORMAT. The valid formats are listed below;
    the same names are also recognized in all-caps. The default in
    copy-in mode is to automatically detect the archive format, and
    in copy-out mode is "bin".

    bin  The obsolete binary format.

    odc  The old (POSIX.1) portable format.

    newc  The new (SVR4) portable format, which supports file sys-
     tems having more than 65536 i-nodes.

    crc  The new (SVR4) portable format with a checksum added.

    tar  The old tar format.

    ustar The POSIX.1 tar format.  Also recognizes  GNU  tar
     archives, which are similar but not identical.

    hpbin The obsolete binary format used by HPUX's cpio (which
     stores device files differently).

    hpodc The portable format used by HPUX's cpio (which stores
     device files differently).

    -i, --extract
    Run in copy-in mode.

    -I archive
    Archive filename  to use instead of standard input. To use a
    tape drive on another machine as the archive, use a filename
    that starts with `HOSTNAME:'. The hostname can be preceded by a
    username and an `@' to access the  remote  tape drive as that
    user, if  you have permission to do so (typically an entry in
    that user's `~/.rhosts' file).

    -k   Ignored; for compatibility with other versions of cpio.

    -l, --link
    Link files instead of copying them, when possible.

    -L, --dereference
    Dereference symbolic links (copy the files that they point to
    instead of copying the links).

    -m, --preserve-modification-time
    Retain previous file modification times when creating files.

    -M MESSAGE, --message=MESSAGE
    Print MESSAGE when the end of a volume of the backup media (such
    as a tape or a floppy disk) is reached, to prompt  the user to
    insert a new volume. If MESSAGE contains the string "%d", it is
    replaced by the current volume number (starting at 1).

    -n, --numeric-uid-gid
    In the verbose table of contents listing, show numeric UID and
    GID instead of translating them into names. Also extracts tar
    archives using the numeric UID and GID instead of the user/group
    names.  (cpio archives are always extracted using the numeric
    UID and GID.)

 --no-absolute-filenames
    In copy-in mode, create all files relative to the current direc-
    tory, even if they have an absolute file name in the archive.

 --no-preserve-owner
    In copy-in mode and copy-pass mode, do not change the ownership
    of the files; leave them owned by the user extracting  them.
    This is the default for non-root users, so that users on System
    V don't inadvertantly give away files.

    -o, --create
    Run in copy-out mode.

    -O archive
    Archive filename to use instead of standard output.  To use a
    tape drive on another machine as the archive, use a filename
    that starts with `HOSTNAME:'. The hostname can be preceded by a
    username and an  `@' to access the remote tape drive as that
    user, if you have permission to do so (typically  an entry in
    that user's `~/.rhosts' file).

 --only-verify-crc
    When reading a CRC format archive in copy-in mode, only verify
    the CRC's of each file in the archive, don't actually extract
    the files.

    -p, --pass-through
    Run in copy-pass mode.

    --quiet
    Do not print the number of blocks copied.

    -r, --rename
    Interactively rename files.

    -R [user][:.][group], --owner [user][:.][group]
    In copy-out and copy-pass modes, set the ownership of all files
    created to the specified user and/or group. Either the user or
    the group, or both, must be present. If the group is omitted
    but the ":" or "." separator is given, use the  given user's
    login group. Only the super-user can change files' ownership.

    --rsh-command=COMMAND
    Notifies mt that it should use COMMAND to communicate with
    remote devices instead of /usr/bin/ssh or /usr/bin/rsh.

    --sparse
    In copy-in and copy-pass modes, write files with large blocks of
    zeros as sparse files.

    -s, --swap-bytes
    In copy-in mode, swap the bytes of each halfword (pair of bytes)
    in the files.

    -S, --swap-halfwords
    In copy-in mode, swap the halfwords of each word (4 bytes) in
    the files.

    -t, --list
    Print a table of contents of the input.

    -u, --unconditional
    Replace all files, without asking whether to replace existing
    newer files with older files.

    -v, --verbose
    List the files processed, or with -t, give an `ls -l' style ta-
    ble of contents  listing. In a verbose table of contents of a
    ustar archive, user and group names in the archive that do not
    exist on the local system are replaced by the names that corre-
    spond locally to the numeric UID and GID stored in the archive.

    -V --dot
    Print a "." for each file processed.

    --version
    Print the cpio program version number and exit.