Xcopy Command (2024)

Xcopy Command Examples

Following are several examples of how to use this command:

Copy Files to a New Folder

 xcopyC:\FilesE:\Files/i

In the above example, the files contained in thesourcedirectory ofC:\Filesare copied todestination, a new directory [/i] on theEdrive calledFiles.

No subdirectories, nor any files contained within them, will be copied because the/soption was not used.

Xcopy Backup Script

 xcopy"C:\ImportantFiles"D:\Backup/c/d/e/h/i/k/q/r/s/x/y

In this example, xcopy is designed to function as a backup solution. Try this if you'd like to use xcopy instead of abackupsoftware programto back up your files. Put the command as shown above in a script and schedule it to run nightly.

As shown above, the command is used to copy all the files and folders [/s] newer than those already copied [/d], including empty folders [/e] and hidden files [/h], fromsourceofC:\Important Filesto thedestinationofD:\Backup, which is a directory [/i]. Wehave some read-only files we want to keep updated indestination[/r] and we want to keep that attribute after being copied [/k]. We also want to make sure we maintain any ownership and audit settings in the files we're copying [/x]. Finally, since we're running xcopy in a script, we don't need to see any information about the files as they're copied [/q], We don't want to be prompted to overwrite each one [/y], nor do we want the command to stop if it runs into an error [/c].

Copy Files and Folders Over the Network

 xcopyC:\Videos"\\SERVER\MediaBackup"/f/j/s/w/z

Here, the command is used to copy all the files, subfolders, and files contained in the subfolders [/s] fromsourceofC:\Videosto the destination folderMedia Backuplocated on a computer on the network by the name ofSERVER. We're copying some really large video files, so buffering should be disabled to improve the copy process [/j], and since we're copying over the network, we want to be able to resume copying if we lose the network connection [/z]. Being paranoid, we want to be prompted to start the process before it actually does anything [/w], and we also want to see every detail about what files are being copied as they're being copied [/f].

Duplicate Folder Structure

 xcopyC:\Client032C:\Client033/t/e

In this final example, we have asourcefull of well-organized files and folders inC:\Client032for a client. We've already created an emptydestinationfolder,Client033, for a new client but we don't want any files copied—just the empty folder structure [/t] so that we're organized and prepared. We have some empty folders inC:\Client032that might apply to the new client, so we want to make sure those are copied as well [/e].

Xcopy & Xcopy32

In Windows 98 and Windows 95, two versions of the xcopy command were available: xcopy and xcopy32. However, the latter command was never intended to be run directly.

When you execute xcopy in Windows 95 or 98, either the original 16-bit version is automatically executed (when in MS-DOS mode) or the newer 32-bit version is automatically executed (when in Windows).

To be clear, no matter what version of Windows or MS-DOS you have, always run the xcopy command, not xcopy32, even if it's available. When you execute xcopy, you're always running the most appropriate version of the command.

Xcopy Related Commands

The xcopy command is similar in many ways to the copy command but with significantly more options, like the ability to copy folders, copy every file in subdirectories, and exclude files.

This command is also very much like the robocopy command except that robocopy has more flexibility than even xcopy.

The dir command is often used with xcopy to check which folders and files are in a directory before completing the command.