How to Copy a Single File in Linux Let’s start really simply by copying a single file. The command syntax is structured as follows. cp 1. Create a new file called test1.txt. touch test1.txt ...

You can run a series of Linux commands to copy multiple files to a folder or copy a single file to multiple folders, but you can save time and trouble by using xargs, loops and scripts.

You might find yourself on a GUI-less Linux server and need to make a backup of a configuration file or copy a data directory. Trust me, at some point you’re going to need to be able to do this.