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Is there a way to tell cp to --link (i.e. create hard links), but fall back in the case where I am attempting inter-device hardlinks? Inter-device links aren't possible and would cause cp to fail.

The reason I am asking is because I would like to use this in a GNUmakefile and would prefer a readable command line over some convoluted and lengthy one (or a function, for that matter).

The question is for GNU coreutils (7.4 and 8.13).

Note: right now the workaround would be something like (GNU make recipe syntax):

cp -fl $^ $@ || cp -f $^ $@

This will of course give spurious error messages in case of inter-device links, although succeeding on the second cp call then. Also, then this gets expanded (source form looks readable after all) it won't be too readable anymore.

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cp doesn't have this option. You could write a wrapper script, but it's pretty simple.

ln -f $^ $@ 2>/dev/null || cp -f $^ $@

GNU Coreutils 7.5 introduced the --reflink option. If you pass --reflink=auto and the underlying filesystem supports copy-on-write (e.g. Btrfs or ZFS) and the copy happens to be on the same device, then cp will create a new inode but not copy the content; otherwise cp performs a normal copy. This is still not a hard link (the target will always be a different inode), but it's probably even better for your use case. However, if you're on ext4 (like most people nowadays), which doesn't support copy-on-write, this won't help you.

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    Thanks, the double $$ in my case is of course because this is inside a macro. And your line of course is a variation of what I am using. But at least I know this way that it doesn't exist as an option and I need to provide my own.
    – 0xC0000022L
    Feb 5, 2013 at 1:41
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    @0xC0000022L By the way, in a few years, when btrfs supplants ext4, you may want to use scrap ln and use cp --reflink=auto (see my updated answer).
    – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
    Feb 5, 2013 at 1:43
  • thanks, much appreciated. Wasn't aware of it, although I had seen that option at some point.
    – 0xC0000022L
    Feb 5, 2013 at 1:44

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