Backup and Versioning with cp Command

TLDR: The cp command in Linux supports versioning through options like --backup and --suffix, allowing users to create backups with incremental numbers or custom suffixes.

Built-in Versioning Capabilities

The cp command provides two main options for file versioning:

1. --backup: Creates a backup of the destination file before overwriting.
2. --suffix: Defines a custom suffix for the backup file.

Basic Backup

To create a simple backup:

cp --backup=numbered /path/to/source/file /path/to/destination/

This command generates a backup with a default tilde (~) suffix and an incrementing number.

Custom Suffix Backup

For more descriptive backups:

cp --backup=numbered --suffix=.bak /path/to/source/file /path/to/destination/

This command creates backups with a .bak suffix and an incrementing number.

Practical Example: Backing Up SSH Configuration

To manage the SSH configuration file /etc/ssh/sshd_config:

1. Create a numbered backup:

    cp --backup=numbered /etc/ssh/sshd_config /data/backup/
   

   This produces backups such as sshd_config.~1~, sshd_config.~2~, etc.

2. Create a numbered backup with a custom suffix:

    cp --backup=numbered --suffix=.bak /etc/ssh/sshd_config /data/backup/
   

   This results in backups like sshd_config.bak.1, sshd_config.bak.2, etc.

Benefits

• Keeps a history of file changes
• Prevents accidental overwriting of important files
• Provides a simple versioning system without complex tools

Ref: sysxplore - X