GNU bug report logs - #61105
cp/mv: want a fatal --no-clobber

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Message #14 received at 61105 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu>
To: Mike Frysinger <vapier <at> gentoo.org>, 61105 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#61105: cp/mv: want a fatal --no-clobber
Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2023 12:12:28 -0800

Better, I think, would be to change cp -n to be compatible with FreeBSD, 
where 'cp -n A B' exits with status 1 if B exists. This matches what 
FreeBSD 'cp -i A B' does when you say "no". This would be more useful 
than what GNU cp does, and the FreeBSD cp -i behavior conforms to POSIX 
whereas GNU cp -i (I think accidentally) does not. This would be simpler 
than adding a fatal --no-clobber, and would encourage portability a bit.

The reason it's a POSIX conformance issue is that POSIX says exit status 
zero means "All files were copied successfully." which "cp -n A B" does 
not do when B exists.

Similarly for 'mv' (though FreeBSD mv -i does not conform to POSIX here, 
unfortunately).

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