https://madhusudanupadhyay.com.np/tags/command-line/Recent content in Command Line on Madhusudan Upadhyay — ICT Support Executive | Microsoft 365 & Endpoint ManagementHugoen-usTue, 07 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://madhusudanupadhyay.com.np/knowledge/robocopy-reliable-file-copying/Tue, 07 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://madhusudanupadhyay.com.np/knowledge/robocopy-reliable-file-copying/<p>Robocopy (Robust File Copy) is Microsoft&rsquo;s command-line directory replication tool, built into Windows since Vista/Server 2008. It replaces xcopy with superior reliability, resume capability, and advanced features for enterprise file operations.</p> <h2 id="why-robocopy">Why Robocopy?</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Feature</th> <th>xcopy</th> <th>Robocopy</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Resume on failure</td> <td>❌</td> <td>✅</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Multi-threaded</td> <td>❌</td> <td>✅ (/MT)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mirror directories</td> <td>Limited</td> <td>✅ (/MIR)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>File attributes</td> <td>Basic</td> <td>Full preservation</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Retry logic</td> <td>None</td> <td>Configurable</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Logging</td> <td>Minimal</td> <td>Comprehensive</td> </tr> <tr> <td>UNC/Long paths</td> <td>Problematic</td> <td>Native support</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Bandwidth throttling</td> <td>❌</td> <td>✅ (/IPG)</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <h2 id="essential-syntax">Essential Syntax</h2> <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#e6edf3;background-color:#0d1117;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;-webkit-text-size-adjust:none;"><code class="language-cmd" data-lang="cmd"><span style="display:flex;"><span>robocopy &lt;Source&gt; &lt;Destination&gt; [&lt;File&gt;[ ...]] [&lt;Options&gt;] </span></span></code></pre></div><p><strong>Key concept</strong>: Robocopy works with <em>directories</em>, not individual files. Source and destination are folder paths.</p>