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| -rw-r--r-- | docs/podman-cp.1.md | 80 |
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diff --git a/docs/podman-cp.1.md b/docs/podman-cp.1.md index 88e50e86b..37426b236 100644 --- a/docs/podman-cp.1.md +++ b/docs/podman-cp.1.md @@ -3,20 +3,70 @@ ## NAME podman\-cp - Copy files/folders between a container and the local filesystem -## Description -We chose not to implement the `cp` feature in `podman` even though the upstream Docker -project has it. We have a much stronger capability. Using standard podman-mount -and podman-umount, we can take advantage of the entire linux tool chain, rather +## SYNOPSIS +**podman cp [CONTAINER:]SRC_PATH [CONTAINER:]DEST_PATH** + +## DESCRIPTION +Copies the contents of **SRC_PATH** to the **DEST_PATH**. You can copy from the containers's filesystem to the local machine or the reverse, from the local filesystem to the container. + +The CONTAINER can be a running or stopped container. The **SRC_PATH** or **DEST_PATH** can be a file or directory. + +The **podman cp** command assumes container paths are relative to the container's / (root) directory. + +This means supplying the initial forward slash is optional; + +The command sees **compassionate_darwin:/tmp/foo/myfile.txt** and **compassionate_darwin:tmp/foo/myfile.txt** as identical. + +Local machine paths can be an absolute or relative value. +The command interprets a local machine's relative paths as relative to the current working directory where **podman cp** is run. + +Assuming a path separator of /, a first argument of **SRC_PATH** and second argument of **DEST_PATH**, the behavior is as follows: + +**SRC_PATH** specifies a file + - **DEST_PATH** does not exist + - the file is saved to a file created at **DEST_PATH** + - **DEST_PATH** does not exist and ends with / + - **DEST_PATH** is created as a directory and the file is copied into this directory using the basename from **SRC_PATH** + - **DEST_PATH** exists and is a file + - the destination is overwritten with the source file's contents + - **DEST_PATH** exists and is a directory + - the file is copied into this directory using the basename from **SRC_PATH** + +**SRC_PATH** specifies a directory + - **DEST_PATH** does not exist + - **DEST_PATH** is created as a directory and the contents of the source directory are copied into this directory + - **DEST_PATH** exists and is a file + - Error condition: cannot copy a directory to a file + - **DEST_PATH** exists and is a directory + - **SRC_PATH** ends with / + - the source directory is copied into this directory + - **SRC_PATH** ends with /. (that is: slash followed by dot) + - the content of the source directory is copied into this directory + +The command requires **SRC_PATH** and **DEST_PATH** to exist according to the above rules. + +If **SRC_PATH** is local and is a symbolic link, the symbolic target, is copied by default. + +A colon (:) is used as a delimiter between CONTAINER and its path. + +You can also use : when specifying paths to a **SRC_PATH** or **DEST_PATH** on a local machine, for example, `file:name.txt`. + +If you use a : in a local machine path, you must be explicit with a relative or absolute path, for example: + `/path/to/file:name.txt` or `./file:name.txt` + + +## ALTERNATIVES + +Podman has much stronger capabilities than just `podman cp` to achieve copy files between host and container. + +Using standard podman-mount and podman-umount takes advantage of the entire linux tool chain, rather then just cp. -If a user wants to copy contents out of a container or into a container, they -can execute a few simple commands. +If a user wants to copy contents out of a container or into a container, they can execute a few simple commands. -You can copy from the container's file system to the local machine or the -reverse, from the local filesystem to the container. +You can copy from the container's file system to the local machine or the reverse, from the local filesystem to the container. -If you want to copy the /etc/foobar directory out of a container and onto /tmp -on the host, you could execute the following commands: +If you want to copy the /etc/foobar directory out of a container and onto /tmp on the host, you could execute the following commands: mnt=$(podman mount CONTAINERID) cp -R ${mnt}/etc/foobar /tmp @@ -40,5 +90,15 @@ This shows that using `podman mount` and `podman umount` you can use all of the standard linux tools for moving files into and out of containers, not just the cp command. +## EXAMPLE + +podman cp /myapp/app.conf containerID:/myapp/app.conf + +podman cp /home/myuser/myfiles.tar containerID:/tmp + +podman cp containerID:/myapp/ /myapp/ + +podman cp containerID:/home/myuser/. /home/myuser/ + ## SEE ALSO podman(1), podman-mount(1), podman-umount(1) |