XCOPY

In computing, Xcopy is a command used on IBM OS/2 and Microsoft Windows for copying multiple files or entire directory trees from one directory to another and for copying files across a network. Xcopy stands for extended copy,^[1] and was created as a more functional file copying utility than the copy tool found in MS-DOS.

Example

Create a new directory by copying the contents of the existing directory, including any files or subdirectories having the "hidden" or "system" attributes and empty directories.

xcopy e:\existing e:\newcopy /s /e /i /h

If the directory names include blank signs(spaces), the names can be put in quotation marks.

XCOPY "D:\Documents and Settings\MY.USERNAME\My Documents\*" "E:\MYBACKUP\My Documents\" /D/E/C/Y

Copy entire drive in to a mapped network drive while ignoring any errors in network restartable mode.

xcopy *.* z:\Netmirror /E /V /C /F /H /Y /Z  1>out.txt 2>err.txt

Deprecation

While still included in Windows Vista, Xcopy has been deprecated in favor of Robocopy, a much more powerful copy tool, which is now built into the operating system.^[2]

Limitation

When copying with Xcopy you get insufficient memory when the path + filename is longer than 254 characters.^{[citation needed]} Robocopy doesn't have this limitation.

See also

• XCOPY deployment

References

External links

• Microsoft TechNet Xcopy article
• VariableGHz article depicting CRC errors and XCOPY as a solution
• XCOPY Command in a post build event does not execute
• XP_CMDSHELL Does Not Work with XCOPY

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