In the first three forms, copy SOURCE to DEST or multiple SOURCE(s) to the existing DIRECTORY, while setting permission modes and owner/group. In the 4th form, create all components of the given DIRECTORY(ies).

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.

--backup[=CONTROL] make a backup of each existing destination file

-b

like --backup but does not accept an argument

-c

(ignored)

-d, --directory

treat all arguments as directory names; create all components of the specified directories

-D

create all leading components of DEST except the last, then copy SOURCE to DEST

-g, --group=GROUP

set group ownership, instead of process' current group

-m, --mode=MODE

set permission mode (as in chmod), instead of rwxr-xr-x

-o, --owner=OWNER

set ownership (super-user only)

-p, --preserve-timestamps

apply access/modification times of SOURCE files to corresponding destination files

-s, --strip

strip symbol tables

-S, --suffix=SUFFIX override the usual backup suffix

-t, --target-directory=DIRECTORY

copy all SOURCE arguments into DIRECTORY

-T, --no-target-directory

treat DEST as a normal file

-v, --verbose

print the name of each directory as it is created

-P, --preserve_context (SELinux) Preserve security context

-Z, --context=CONTEXT

(SELinux) Set security context of files and directories

--help

display this help and exit

--version

output version information and exit

The backup suffix is `~', unless set with --suffix or SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX. The version control method may be selected via the --backup option or through the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable. Here are the values:

none, off

never make backups (even if --backup is given)

numbered, t

make numbered backups

existing, nil

numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise

simple, never

always make simple backups

info install

should give you access to the complete manual.