INSTALL(1)

💖 INSTALL(1) — the manual page, but make it make sense 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to install(1), from the General Commands Manual section. she's lowkey the glow-up version of cp — same copying energy, but she also sets permission modes AND owner/group. it's giving "copy with benefits". let's get into it 🫶

---

✨ NAME ✨

install — copy SOURCE to DEST, or multiple SOURCE(s) into the existing DIRECTORY, while setting permission modes and owner/group. yes ma'am, she does all three 💅

---

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

install [OPTION]... [FILE]...

that's it. that's the vibe. options first, files after. periodt ✨

---

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so like — copy SOURCE to DEST, or copy multiple SOURCE(s) into the existing DIRECTORY, and while you're at it, set the permission modes and the owner/group. that's the whole personality. no cap, that's literally the description. she copies AND she styles. main character energy 👑

---

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

so many flags, and every single one of them is here, i promise. no skipping, bestie 🍓

• --backup[=<CONTROL>] — makes a backup of each existing destination file. yes, plural-safe, she's thoughtful like that 💜
• -b — same as --backup but she does NOT accept an argument. no <CONTROL> for her, she's low maintenance.
• -c — ignored. that's it. that's the flag. she's just there. iconic honestly 💀
• -C, --compare — compares each pair of source and destination files, and in some cases, doesn't modify the destination at all. "in some cases" — don't ask her which, she said what she said 🙈
• -d, --directory — treats all arguments as directory names, and creates all components of the specified directories. all the components. every last one 🧚
• -D — creates all leading components of DEST except the last, then copies SOURCE to DEST. so she builds the road, then drives on it 🌈
• -g, --group <GROUP> — set the group ownership, instead of the process's current group. glow-up for the group 🎀
• -m, --mode <MODE> — set the permission mode (as in chmod), instead of rwxr-xr-x. and yes, rwxr-xr-x is the default, note it and move on 💅
• -o, --owner <OWNER> — set the ownership. super-user only, so like... know your limits bestie 🔥
• -p, --preserve-timestamps — applies the access/modification times of the SOURCE files onto the corresponding destination files. she remembers where they came from 😭
• -s, --strip — strip symbol tables. she's not just copying, she's ✨ editing ✨
• --strip-program <PROGRAM> — the program used to strip binaries. you pick the tool, she picks the vibes 🛠️
• -S, --suffix <SUFFIX> — override the usual backup suffix. the usual one is, well, the usual one. this one is yours 🌸
• -t, --target-directory <DIRECTORY> — move all SOURCE arguments into DIRECTORY. herding cats, but make it file management 🦋
• -T, --no-target-directory — treat DEST as a normal file. no funny business, just a file ⭐
• -v, --verbose — explain what is being done. she will narrate. she will overshare. we love that 🫶
• -P, --preserve-context — preserve the security context. do not lose the context, that's the whole point, iykyk 🔐
• -Z — set the SELinux security context of the destination file and each created directory to the default type. default type, every time 👑
• --context [<CONTEXT>] — set the security context of files and directories. note the optional argument — square brackets mean "you can, you don't have to" 💜
• -U, --unprivileged — do not require elevated privileges to change the owner, the group, or the file flags of the destination. so you don't gotta be root for the whole thing, cute 🌈
• -h, --help — print help. classic. reliable. queen behavior 💅
• -V, --version — print version. check before you wreck, bestie ✅
• [files] — the files. the actual files. the whole reason we're here 🍓

heads up: -o is super-user only, and -c literally does nothing. both of these are canon, i don't make the rules 💀

---

🧚 VERSION 🧚

v(uutils coreutils) 0.12.0

---

aaaand that's the whole page, bestie ✨ go forth, copy responsibly, set those modes, and remember: install is just cp with main character energy 💖🎀🦋

uutils coreutils 0.12.0 · 2026-09-17 · mwah, love u, read your man pages 💜