Batch file to copy directories recursively

Question

Is there a way to copy directories recursively inside a .bat file? If so, an example would be great. thanks.

Answer 1

I wanted to replicate Unix/Linux's cp -r as closely as possible. I came up with the following:

xcopy /e /k /h /i srcdir destdir

Flag explanation:

/e Copies directories and subdirectories, including empty ones.
/k Copies attributes. Normal Xcopy will reset read-only attributes.
/h Copies hidden and system files also.
/i If destination does not exist and copying more than one file, assume destination is a directory.

---

I made the following into a batch file (cpr.bat) so that I didn't have to remember the flags:

xcopy /e /k /h /i %*

Usage: cpr srcdir destdir

---

You might also want to use the following flags, but I didn't:
/q Quiet. Do not display file names while copying.
/b Copies the Symbolic Link itself versus the target of the link. (requires UAC admin)
/o Copies directory and file ACLs. (requires UAC admin)

Answer 2

Look into xcopy, which will recursively copy files and subdirectories.

There are examples, 2/3 down the page. Of particular use is:

To copy all the files and subdirectories (including any empty subdirectories) from drive A to drive B, type:

xcopy a: b: /s /e

Answer 3

You may write a recursive algorithm in Batch that gives you exact control of what you do in every nested subdirectory:

@echo off
call :treeProcess
goto :eof

:treeProcess
rem Do whatever you want here over the files of this subdir, for example:
copy *.* C:\dest\dir
for /D %%d in (*) do (
    cd %%d
    call :treeProcess
    cd ..
)
exit /b

Windows Batch File Looping Through Directories to Process Files?

Answer 4

After reading the accepted answer's comments, I tried the robocopy command, which worked for me (using the standard command prompt from Windows 7 64 bits SP 1):

robocopy source_dir dest_dir /s /e