Ubuntu – What does “omitting directory” mean and how to make it cp the directory rather than omit it

command linecpdata-recoverydirectory

I am doing a data recovery for someone and enter the following command

-Ubuntu:~# cp /media/Macintosh\ HD/Users/orlando/Desktop\ (original)/VIDEOS\ ESPANOL/ /media/\$G\$\ DATA/Orlando/Desktop/

And it outputted this,

 cp: omitting directory `/media/Macintosh HD/Users/orlando/Desktop (original)/VIDEOS ESPANOL/'

By the way, I am logged in as root. What does this mean and how do I fix it?

Best Answer

The error notice means you told cp to copy files and not directories. The warning is about cp finding a directory and informing you it will be skipped.

If you want directories: cp -r means recursive and this option will make cp also include subdirectories.

So your command needs to be:

cp -r /media/Macintosh\ HD/Users/orlandocampoverde/Desktop\ ...

Regarding comment: 

-u, --update
          copy only when the SOURCE file is  newer  than  the  destination
          file or when the destination file is missing
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