NAME¶

std::filesystem::copy_options - std::filesystem::copy_options

Synopsis¶

Defined in header <filesystem>
enum class copy_options {

none = /* unspecified */,
skip_existing = /* unspecified */,
overwrite_existing = /* unspecified */,
update_existing = /* unspecified */,
recursive = /* unspecified */, (since C++17)
copy_symlinks = /* unspecified */,
skip_symlinks = /* unspecified */,
directories_only = /* unspecified */,
create_symlinks = /* unspecified */,
create_hard_links = /* unspecified */

};

This type represents available options that control the behavior of the copy() and
copy_file() function.

copy_options satisfies the requirements of BitmaskType (which means the bitwise
operators operator&, operator|, operator^, operator~, operator&=, operator|=, and
operator^= are defined for this type). none represents the empty bitmask; every
other enumerator represents a distinct bitmask element.

Member constants¶

At most one copy option in each of the following options groups may be present,
otherwise the behavior of the copy functions is undefined.

Member constant Meaning
options controlling copy_file() when the file already exists
none Report an error (default behavior).
skip_existing Keep the existing file, without reporting an error.
overwrite_existing Replace the existing file.
update_existing Replace the existing file only if it is older than the file being
copied.
options controlling the effects of copy() on subdirectories
none Skip subdirectories (default behavior).
recursive Recursively copy subdirectories and their content.
options controlling the effects of copy() on symbolic links
none Follow symlinks (default behavior).
copy_symlinks Copy symlinks as symlinks, not as the files they point to.
skip_symlinks Ignore symlinks.
options controlling the kind of copying copy() does
none Copy file content (default behavior).
directories_only Copy the directory structure, but do not copy any non-directory
files.
Instead of creating copies of files, create symlinks pointing to
create_symlinks the originals. Note: the source path must be an absolute path
unless the destination path is in the current directory.
create_hard_links Instead of creating copies of files, create hardlinks that
resolve to the same files as the originals.

Example¶

// Run this code

#include <cstdlib>
#include <filesystem>
#include <fstream>
#include <iostream>
namespace fs = std::filesystem;

int main()
{
fs::create_directories("sandbox/dir/subdir");
std::ofstream("sandbox/file1.txt").put('a');
fs::copy("sandbox/file1.txt", "sandbox/file2.txt"); // copy file
fs::copy("sandbox/dir", "sandbox/dir2"); // copy directory (non-recursive)
const auto copyOptions = fs::copy_options::update_existing
| fs::copy_options::recursive
| fs::copy_options::directories_only
;
fs::copy("sandbox", "sandbox_copy", copyOptions);
static_cast<void>(std::system("tree"));
fs::remove_all("sandbox");
fs::remove_all("sandbox_copy");
}

Possible output:¶

.
├── sandbox
│ ├── dir
│ │ └── subdir
│ ├── dir2
│ ├── file1.txt
│ └── file2.txt
└── sandbox_copy
├── dir
│ └── subdir
└── dir2

8 directories, 2 files

See also¶

copy copies files or directories
(C++17) (function)
copy_file copies file contents
(C++17) (function)