GNU bug report logs - #56392
`cp --reflink=always` creates empty file on failure

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Package: coreutils;

Reported by: Benjamin Gilbert <bgilbert <at> backtick.net>

Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2022 08:16:02 UTC

Severity: normal

Merged with 56391

Done: Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu>

Bug is archived. No further changes may be made.

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Benjamin Gilbert <bgilbert <at> backtick.net>
To: bug-coreutils <at> gnu.org
Subject: `cp --reflink=always` creates empty file on failure
Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2022 03:41:29 -0400

Hi,

When `cp --reflink=always` fails because the filesystem does not
support reflinks, I'd expect it not to leave anything at the
destination path.  However, it appears to leave an empty file instead:

$ ls -l
total 0
$ echo "some data" > src
$ cp --reflink=always src dest
cp: failed to clone 'dest' from 'src': Operation not supported
$ ls -l
total 4
-rw-rw-r--. 1 bgilbert bgilbert  0 Jul  5 01:27 dest
-rw-rw-r--. 1 bgilbert bgilbert 10 Jul  5 01:27 src

I'm seeing this on both coreutils 9.0 (Fedora 36) and 9.1.31-fa332
built from Git.

Best,
--Benjamin Gilbert
This bug report was last modified 3 years and 47 days ago.

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