wcpcpy(3)

💖 wcpcpy — the girlies' guide to wide-char string copying 💖

okay bestie, this is wcpcpy(3), a libc function (from the Standard C library, linked with -lc, iykyk) that copies a wide-character string and — this is the fun part — hands you back a pointer to where it ended, not where it started. main character energy. periodt. ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

wcpcpy — copy a wide-character string, returning a pointer to its end 🦋

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📚 LIBRARY 📚

Standard C library (libc, -lc) 💅

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <wchar.h>

wchar_t *wcpcpy(wchar_t *restrict dest, const wchar_t *restrict src);

🎀 Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see feature_test_macros(7)) 🎀

wcpcpy():

• Since glibc 2.10:
  • _POSIX_C_SOURCE >= 200809L
• Before glibc 2.10:
  • _GNU_SOURCE

ngl if you're on old glibc you gotta define _GNU_SOURCE or she simply will not show up for you 🙈

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💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

wcpcpy() is literally the wide-character equivalent of stpcpy(3). it's giving... the same thing but wider. 🫶

she copies the wide-character string pointed to by src — including the terminating null wide character (L'\0') — into the array pointed to by dest. the whole vibe, terminator and all. 💖

The strings may not overlap. like, they cannot be the same memory, bestie, do not do that.

and the programmer (that's you, babe 💅) must ensure that there is room for at least wcslen(src)+1 wide characters at dest. that +1 is for the null. do not forget the null. the null is the moment. ⭐

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🔥 RETURN VALUE 🔥

wcpcpy() returns a pointer to the end of the wide-character string dest — meaning a pointer to the terminating null wide character. so she doesn't give you the beginning, she gives you where it ended. iconic behavior, honestly. 👑

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💀 ATTRIBUTES 💀

for an explanation of the terms used in this section, see attributes(7).

• wcpcpy() — Thread safety: MT-Safe

translated: she is safe to use across threads, no cap. 🌈

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👑 STANDARDS 👑

POSIX.1-2008. certified slay. 🎀

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🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

• strcpy(3)
• wcscpy(3)

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and that's the whole page, bestie — go copy some wide chars responsibly 💖✨

this was Linux man-pages 6.20, dated 2026-02-08, and it's the wcpcpy(3) page 🫶 mwah, study safe 🎀