Linux in a Nutshell, 6th Edition

Name

install

Synopsis

install [options] [source] destination

System administration command. Used primarily in Makefiles to update files. install copies files into user-specified directories. Similar to cp, but attempts to set permission modes, owner, and group. The source may be a file or directory, or a list of files and directories. The destination should be a single file or directory.

Options

-b, --backup[=control]

Back up any existing files. When using the long version of the command, the optional control parameter controls the kind of backup. When no control is specified, install will attempt to read the control value from the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable. Accepted values are:

none, off

Never make backups.

numbered, t

Make numbered backups.

existing, nil

Match existing backups, numbered or simple.

simple, never

Always make simple backups.

-C

Do not overwrite file when the target exists and is identical to the new file. Preserve original timestamp.

-d, --directory

Create any missing directories.

-D

Create leading components of destination except the last, then copy source to destination.

-g group, --group group

Set group ID of new file to group (privileged users only).

--help

Print help information and exit.

-m mode, --mode mode

Set permissions of new file to mode (octal or symbolic). By default, the mode is 0755.

-o [owner], --owner[=owner]

Set ownership to owner or, if unspecified, to root (privileged users only).

-p, --preserve-timestamps

Preserve access and modification times on source files ...