Xcopy
Updated: January 21, 2005
Syntax
Parameters
Remarks
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Using /v
Windows XP and the Windows Server 2003 family of products do not use this command. It is included only to preserve compatibility with existing MS-DOS files, but it has no effect at the command line because the functionality is automatic.
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Using /exclude
List each string in a separate line in each file. If any of the listed strings match any part of the absolute path of the file to be copied, that file is then excluded from the copying process. For example, if you specify the string "\Obj\", you exclude all files underneath the Obj directory. If you specify the string ".obj", you exclude all files with the .obj extension.
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Using /z
If you lose your connection during the copy phase (for example, if the server going offline severs the connection), it resumes after you reestablish the connection. /z also displays the percentage of the copy operation completed for each file.
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Using /y in the COPYCMD environment variable
You can use /y in the COPYCMD environment variable. You can override this command by using /-y on the command line. By default, you are prompted to overwrite, unless you run copy from within a batch script.
- Copying encrypted files
Copying encrypted files to a volume that does not support EFS results in an error. Decrypt the files first or copy the files to a volume that does support EFS.
- Appending files
To append files, specify a single file for destination, but multiple files for source (that is, by using wildcards or file1+file2+file3 format).
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Default value for Destination
If you omit Destination, the xcopy command copies the files to the current directory.
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Specifying whether Destination is a file or directory
If Destination does not contain an existing directory and does not end with a backslash (\), the following message appears:
Does destination specify a file name or directory name on the target (F = file, D = directory)?
Press F if you want the file or files to be copied to a file. Press D if you want the file or files to be copied to a directory.
You can suppress this message by using the /i command-line option, which causes xcopy to assume that the destination is a directory if the source is more than one file or a directory.
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Using the xcopy command to set archive attribute for Destination files
The xcopy command creates files with the archive attribute set, whether or not this attribute was set in the source file. For more information about file attributes and attrib, see Related Topics.
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Comparing xcopy and diskcopy
If you have a disk that contains files in subdirectories and you want to copy it to a disk that has a different format, use the xcopy command instead of diskcopy. Because the diskcopy command copies disks track by track, your source and destination disks must have the same format. The xcopy command does not have this requirement. Use xcopy unless you need a complete disk image copy.
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Exit codes for xcopy
To process exit codes returned by xcopy, use the ErrorLevel parameter on the if command line in a batch program. For an example of a batch program that processes exit codes using if, see Related Topics. The following table lists each exit code and a description.
Exit code Description 0 Files were copied without error. 1 No files were found to copy. 2 The user pressed CTRL+C to terminate xcopy. 4 Initialization error occurred. There is not enough memory or disk space, or you entered an invalid drive name or invalid syntax on the command line. 5 Disk write error occurred.
Examples
xcopy a: b: /s /e
To include any system or hidden files in the previous example, add the/h command-line option as follows:
xcopy a: b: /s /e /h
To update files in the \Reports directory with the files in the \Rawdata directory that have changed since December 29, 1993, type:
xcopy \rawdata \reports /d:12-29-1993
To update all the files that exist in \Reports in the previous example, regardless of date, type:
xcopy \rawdata \reports /u
To obtain a list of the files to be copied by the previous command (that is, without actually copying the files), type:
xcopy \rawdata \reports /d:12-29-1993 /l > xcopy.out
The file Xcopy.out lists every file that is to be copied.
To copy the \Customer directory and all subdirectories to the directory \\Public\Address on network drive H:, retain the read-only attribute, and be prompted when a new file is created on H:, type:
xcopy \customer h:\public\address /s /e /k /p
To issue the previous command, ensure that xcopy creates the \Address directory if it does not exist, and suppress the message that appears when you create a new directory, add the /i command-line option as follows:
xcopy \customer h:\public\address /s /e /k /p /i
You can create a batch program to perform xcopy operations and use the batch if command to process the exit code if an error occurs. For example, the following batch program uses replaceable parameters for the xcopy source and destination parameters:
@echo off rem COPYIT.BAT transfers all files in all subdirectories of rem the source drive or directory (%1) to the destination rem drive or directory (%2) xcopy %1 %2 /s /e if errorlevel 4 goto lowmemory if errorlevel 2 goto abort if errorlevel 0 goto exit :lowmemory echo Insufficient memory to copy files or echo invalid drive or command-line syntax. goto exit :abort echo You pressed CTRL+C to end the copy operation. goto exit :exit
To use this batch program to copy all files in the C:\Prgmcode directory and its subdirectories to drive B, type:
copyit c:\prgmcode b:
The command interpreter substitutes C:\Prgmcode for %1 and B: for %2, then uses xcopy with the /e and /s command-line options. If xcopy encounters an error, the batch program reads the exit code and goes to the label indicated in the appropriate IF ERRORLEVEL statement, then displays the appropriate message and exits from the batch program.
Formatting legend
| Format | Meaning |
| Italic | Information that the user must supply |
| Bold | Elements that the user must type exactly as shown |
| Ellipsis (...) | Parameter that can be repeated several times in a command line |
| Between brackets ([]) | Optional items |
| Between braces ({}); choices separated by pipe (|). Example: {even|odd} | Set of choices from which the user must choose only one |
| Courier font | Code or program output |