PowerShell Copy-Item

last modified February 15, 2025

In this article, we will cover the Copy-Item cmdlet in PowerShell. This cmdlet copies files and directories from one location to another.

Copy-Item basics

The Copy-Item cmdlet copies an item from one location to another. It can copy files, directories, and registry keys. The cmdlet preserves the original item and creates a copy at the destination. Wildcards are supported for copying multiple items.

Basic file copy

The simplest way to use Copy-Item is to specify source and destination paths. This copies a single file to the target location. The destination can be a file name or directory. If the destination is a directory, the file keeps its original name.

copy1.ps1

Copy-Item -Path “C:\data\report.txt” -Destination “C:\backup"

This command copies report.txt from C:\data to C:\backup. If backup directory doesn’t exist, an error occurs. The file keeps its original name.

Copy with new name

You can rename a file while copying by specifying a new name in the destination path. This creates a copy with a different name in the same or different directory. The original file remains unchanged.

copy2.ps1

Copy-Item -Path “C:\data\report.txt” -Destination “C:\backup\report_backup.txt”

This copies report.txt to report_backup.txt in the backup directory. Both files exist after the operation. The destination directory must exist.

Copy multiple files

Wildcards can be used to copy multiple files matching a pattern. The asterisk (*) matches any sequence of characters. This is useful for copying groups of files with similar names or extensions.

copy3.ps1

Copy-Item -Path “C:\data*.log” -Destination “C:\backup"

This copies all .log files from C:\data to C:\backup. Each file keeps its original name. Only files matching the pattern are copied.

Recursive directory copy

To copy a directory and its contents, use the -Recurse parameter. This copies all files and subdirectories. Without this parameter, only the empty directory is copied. The destination directory is created if it doesn’t exist.

copy4.ps1

Copy-Item -Path “C:\projects" -Destination “C:\backup\projects" -Recurse

This copies the entire projects directory to the backup location. All files and subdirectories are included. The operation may take time for large directories.

Force overwrite

By default, Copy-Item won’t overwrite existing files. Use the -Force parameter to overwrite existing items. This is useful when you need to ensure the destination matches the source. Be cautious as data loss may occur.

copy5.ps1

Copy-Item -Path “C:\data\report.txt” -Destination “C:\backup" -Force

This command overwrites report.txt in the backup directory if it exists. Without -Force, the copy would fail if the file exists. The original is unchanged.

Filtered copy

You can combine Copy-Item with other cmdlets for advanced copying. This example copies only files modified in the last 7 days. Get-ChildItem filters the files before copying. The pipeline passes the filtered results.

copy6.ps1

Get-ChildItem -Path “C:\data" -File | Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -gt (Get-Date).AddDays(-7) } | Copy-Item -Destination “C:\backup"

This copies only files modified in the last week. The pipeline filters first, then copies. This approach is efficient for large directories.

Copy to remote computer

Copy-Item can copy files to remote computers using PowerShell remoting. The -ToSession parameter specifies the remote session. This requires established PSSession with the remote computer.

copy7.ps1

$session = New-PSSession -ComputerName “Server01” Copy-Item -Path “C:\data\report.txt” -Destination “C:\backup" -ToSession $session Remove-PSSession $session

This copies report.txt to Server01’s backup directory. The session must be established first. Always clean up sessions when done.

Source

PowerShell documentation

In this article, we have covered the Copy-Item cmdlet in PowerShell.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.

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