GNU bug report logs - #14880
cp copy birth time

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From: Eric Blake <eblake <at> redhat.com>
To: Enda <enda_k2 <at> yahoo.com>
Cc: 14880 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: bug#14880: cp copy birth time
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 09:20:32 -0600

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On 07/16/2013 08:42 AM, Enda wrote:
> Copying a file using cp on a NTFS filesystem to an ext4 filesystem does not copy the birth time:
> 
> $ cp --preserve=all ntfs.txt ~
> 
> 
> $ stat ~/ntfs.txt 
> ...
>  Birth: -

You CAN'T copy birth time.  There is no file system that lets you set
birth time to anything other than the time when the file is created.
But as the copy is created at the time you run cp, if the destination
supports birth time, by the very definition of brith time the
destination will record the time cp was run, and not the time of the
original source.

-- 
Eric Blake   eblake redhat com    +1-919-301-3266
Libvirt virtualization library http://libvirt.org

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