`man cp` doesn’t document the `-R` option
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Description
The manpage for cp/ucp shows the --recursive and -r options for recursive copying, but does not mention -R. All of the following work exactly as expected after running rm -rf directory elsewhere && mkdir directory:
$ "$(brew --prefix uutils-coreutils)"/libexec/uubin/cp -r directory elsewhere
$ ucp -r directory elsewhere
$ ucp --recursive directory elsewhere
$ "$(brew --prefix uutils-coreutils)"/libexec/uubin/cp --recursive directory elsewhere
$ "$(brew --prefix uutils-coreutils)"/libexec/uubin/cp -R directory elsewhere
$ ucp -R directory elsewhere
but the last two lines use -R, which is undocumented in the manpage, and is the only POSIX-guaranteed option for recursive copying.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start at src/uu/cp/src/cp.rs around lines 475-485, where the documented cp options are defined, and inspect how that text feeds the cp/ucp manpage. Confirm the generated documentation includes -R alongside the recursive options, then run the relevant documentation or cp checks if available.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- rust
- Domain
- cli, documentation
- Issue type
- Documentation
- Difficulty
- 1/5
- Estimated time
- Under an hour
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 48/100