When working with the Linux cp command in terminal operations, you might encounter the interactive prompt asking for confirmation on every file overwrite. This behavior occurs when:

• Copying files to a destination where same-named files exist
• Using recursive copy operations (-r flag)
• No explicit overwrite policy is specified

# Typical interactive prompt example
cp: overwrite './config.ini'?

1. Using the -f (force) Flag

The most straightforward solution is to add the -f or --force option:

cp -rf /source/directory/* /destination/directory/

This tells cp to:

• Skip all confirmation prompts
• Overwrite existing files silently
• Continue operation even if errors occur

2. Alternative: Using \yes Command

For systems where -f might not work (some Unix variants), pipe the output of yes:

yes | cp -r /usr/share/drupal-update/* /usr/share/drupal

Combining with Rsync

For more complex copy operations, consider rsync which provides better control:

rsync -a --delete /source/ /destination/

Preserving File Attributes

When you need to maintain original file permissions and timestamps:

cp -rp /original/data /backup/location

• Accidentally overwriting important files without confirmation
• Permission issues when running as non-root user
• Symbolic links behavior differs between cp implementations

Remember that disabling interactive mode means you assume full responsibility for any data overwritten. Always verify your command parameters before execution.

When recursively copying directories in Linux using the cp -r command, you've probably encountered this frustrating scenario:

cp: overwrite './config.ini'? y
cp: overwrite './settings.json'? y
cp: overwrite './README.md'? y
...

To disable these interactive prompts, you have several options:

# Method 1: Force overwrite
cp -rf /source/dir/* /destination/dir/

# Method 2: Use backslash
\cp -r /source/dir/* /destination/dir/

# Method 3: Alias approach (add to ~/.bashrc)
alias cp='cp -f'

The magic happens with these options:

• -f or --force: Force overwrite without prompt
• -r: Recursive copy (required for directories)
• Backslash prefix: Bypasses any aliases that might be adding interactive behavior

For more complex scenarios:

# Copy with preservation of attributes
cp -rfp /source/* /destination/

# Combine with rsync for better performance
rsync -a --delete /source/ /destination/

Remember that forced overwrites are irreversible. Consider these alternatives for safety:

# First do a dry run
cp -rnv /source/* /destination/

# Backup existing files first
mkdir -p /backup && cp -r /destination/* /backup/