{"id":48351,"date":"2025-02-08T08:09:27","date_gmt":"2025-02-08T08:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/?p=48351"},"modified":"2025-07-12T05:40:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T05:40:12","slug":"docker-cp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/docker-cp\/","title":{"rendered":"Docker commands Guide – docker cp with examples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here\u2019s a complete tutorial<\/strong> on the docker cp<\/code> command, including how it works, its use cases, and a comprehensive list of examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

What is docker cp<\/code>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

docker cp<\/code> is a Docker command used to copy files or directories<\/strong> between your local machine (host) and a Docker container<\/strong>. It\u2019s similar to the Linux cp<\/code> command but operates between the host system<\/strong> and Docker containers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Features of docker cp<\/code>:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Copy files from the host to a container<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Copy files from a container to the host<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Works with absolute<\/strong> and relative paths<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Supports copying entire directories<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Basic Syntax<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
    docker<\/span> cp<\/span> [OPTIONS]<\/span> CONTAINER<\/span>:SRC_PATH<\/span> DEST_PATH<\/span>\ndocker<\/span> cp<\/span> [OPTIONS]<\/span> SRC_PATH<\/span> CONTAINER<\/span>:DEST_PATH<\/span>\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
    Arguments:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • CONTAINER<\/code>: The name or ID of the container.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • SRC_PATH<\/code>: The source file or directory path (inside the container or on the host).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • DEST_PATH<\/code>: The destination file or directory path (inside the container or on the host).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      Examples of docker cp<\/code><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      1. Copy a File from Host to Container<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker cp myfile.txt my_container:\/tmp\/my<\/span>file.txt\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This command copies myfile.txt<\/code> from the host to the \/tmp<\/code> directory of my_container<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      2. Copy a File from Container to Host<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker cp my_container:\/etc\/<\/span>hostname .\/hostname.txt\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This command copies the \/etc\/hostname<\/code> file from the container to the current directory on the host and names it hostname.txt<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      3. Copy a Directory from Host to Container<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker cp .\/myfolder my_container:\/var\/my<\/span>folder\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This copies the entire myfolder<\/code> directory from the host into \/var<\/code> in the container.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      4. Copy a Directory from Container to Host<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker cp my_container:\/usr\/<\/span>share\/nginx\/html .\/nginx-html\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This copies the \/usr\/share\/nginx\/html<\/code> directory from the container to the current directory on the host.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      5. Copy a File and Overwrite in the Container<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker cp updated-config.conf my_container:\/etc\/my<\/span>app\/config.conf\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      The existing config.conf<\/code> in the container is replaced with updated-config.conf<\/code> from the host.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      6. Copy a File with a New Name<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker cp my_container:\/var\/<\/span>log\/nginx\/access.log .\/nginx_access_backup.log\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This copies the access.log<\/code> from the container and saves it on the host as nginx_access_backup.log<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      7. Copy Files Between Two Containers (Indirectly)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      Docker does not allow direct copying between containers using docker cp<\/code>. However, you can do it in two steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Copy the file to the host: docker cp container1:\/path\/to\/file .\/file<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Copy the file to the second container: docker cp .\/file container2:\/path\/to\/file<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n
        8. Using Absolute Paths<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
        docker cp \/home\/user\/myfile.txt my_container:\/tmp\/<\/span>\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
        This uses an absolute path to copy myfile.txt<\/code> from the host to the \/tmp<\/code> directory in the container.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n
        9. Copying Hidden Files<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        To copy hidden files (like .env<\/code>), use:<\/p>\n\n\n
        docker cp .\/myfolder\/.env my_container:\/app\/<\/span>.env\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n
        10. Copy Logs from Container to Host<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        If you want to copy logs for analysis:<\/p>\n\n\n
        docker cp my_container:\/var\/<\/span>log\/app.log .\/app.log\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n
        11. Copy a File from a Stopped Container<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        You can still use docker cp<\/code> on stopped containers:<\/p>\n\n\n
        docker cp stopped_container:\/data\/<\/span>backup.tar.gz .\/backup.tar.gz\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n
        12. Copy Large Directories<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        To copy large directories (e.g., database backups or logs), ensure you have enough space on your host:<\/p>\n\n\n
        docker cp my_container:\/var\/<\/span>lib\/mysql .\/mysql_backup\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n
        13. Verify File Copy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        After copying, you can verify it with:<\/p>\n\n\n
        docker exec my_container ls -l \/path\/in\/container\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n
        List of Common docker cp<\/code> Commands<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
        Command<\/strong><\/th>Description<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
        docker cp file.txt my_container:\/path\/to\/file.txt<\/code><\/td>Copy a file from host to container<\/td><\/tr>
        docker cp my_container:\/path\/to\/file.txt .\/file.txt<\/code><\/td>Copy a file from container to host<\/td><\/tr>
        docker cp .\/myfolder my_container:\/path\/in\/container<\/code><\/td>Copy a directory from host to container<\/td><\/tr>
        docker cp my_container:\/path\/in\/container .\/folder<\/code><\/td>Copy a directory from container to host<\/td><\/tr>
        docker cp stopped_container:\/file .\/file<\/code><\/td>Copy a file from a stopped container to host<\/td><\/tr>
        docker cp .\/file container:\/new\/path\/newfile.txt<\/code><\/td>Copy a file with a new name in the container<\/td><\/tr>
        docker cp hidden\/.env my_container:\/app\/.env<\/code><\/td>Copy hidden files from host to container<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n
        Best Practices<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • Use absolute paths<\/strong> for clarity and to avoid mistakes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Verify copied files<\/strong> with docker exec<\/code> or docker logs<\/code>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Avoid overwriting critical files<\/strong> inside the container unless necessary.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Backup large directories<\/strong> regularly using docker cp<\/code> to avoid data loss.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          \n\n\n\n
          Common Errors and Solutions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          1. “No such file or directory”<\/strong>
            \u2192 Ensure the file or directory exists on the host or in the container.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          2. Permission Denied<\/strong>
            \u2192 Check permissions of the destination directory and run Docker commands with the correct privileges (sudo<\/code> if needed).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          3. Container Not Found<\/strong>
            \u2192 Ensure the container is running or use the correct name\/ID.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
            \n\n\n\n
            Would you like examples for specific file types, like config files, web assets, or database backups? \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
            Here\u2019s a complete tutorial on the docker cp command, including how it works, its use cases, and a comprehensive list of examples. What is docker cp? docker cp is a… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[4862],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-docker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48351"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48353,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48351\/revisions\/48353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}