Copying To copy files, you use the cp command. The following will copy file to file2 . Note that if file2 doesn't exist, it'll be created, but if it exists, it'll be overwritten: $ cp file file2 There aren't any undo commands in the Linux CLI, so accidentally overwriting an important file would probably make you pull your head off. The risk of doing so is smaller if you use the -i option ("interactive") with cp . The following does the same as the above, but if file2 exists, you'll be prompted before overwriting: $ cp -i file file2 cp: overwrite `file2'? n $ So it's a good idea to use the -i option whenever you're dealing with important files you don't want to lose! If you want to copy file into directory dir1 : $ cp file dir1 The following would do the same as the above, copy file into dir1 , but under a different ...