How to copy files in linux faster than cp

How to copy files in linux faster than cp

Tar pipe

1. install the pv: sudo apt install pv
2. tar cf - . | (cd /dst; tar xvf -)^[1]

time tar cf - Mutation/Raw_VCF | (cd /media/Side/ken/; tar xvf -)

tar cf - Mutation/Raw_VCF  2.04s user 21.44s system 18% cpu 2:06.94 total
( cd /dst; tar xvf -; )  1.33s user 32.93s system 26% cpu 2:06.94 total

It only takes 2 minutes compared 12 minutes by cp.

Another commands such as pv can help you too, to monitor the progress of a copy between two directories, for example:

tar cf - . | pv | (cd /dst; tar xf -)

gcp

Only works for git repository.

gcp -rv ~/Music/* /data/music/ ^[1:1]

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1. Cesar Capillas, 2017: How to copy files in linux faster and safer than cp ↩︎ ↩︎