mediumMultiple Choice
220-1202 Practice Question: Copy a directory tree from /home/user/docs to a…
A technician needs to copy a directory tree from /home/user/docs to a backup location /backup/docs, preserving all permissions, ownership, and timestamps. Which command should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between `-p` and `-a` by making candidates think preserving permissions and timestamps is sufficient, while the key requirement to preserve ownership is only met by `-a` (or running `-p` as root).
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
cp -a /home/user/docs /backup/docs
The `cp -a` (archive) command preserves all file attributes, including permissions, ownership, and timestamps, while recursively copying the entire directory tree. This is the most comprehensive single command for duplicating a directory with full metadata integrity.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
cp -r /home/user/docs /backup/docs
Why it's wrong here
The -r flag copies recursively but does not preserve ownership or timestamps.
- ✓
cp -a /home/user/docs /backup/docs
Why this is correct
The `-a` (archive) flag bundles `-dR --preserve=all`, recursing through the tree while retaining permissions, ownership, timestamps, and symlinks. This directly satisfies the stem's requirement to preserve all three attributes during the copy from /home/user/docs to /backup/docs.
- ✗
cp -p /home/user/docs /backup/docs
Why it's wrong here
The -p flag preserves timestamps but does not copy recursively; it would fail on a directory.
- ✗
rsync -r /home/user/docs /backup/docs
Why it's wrong here
rsync with -r copies recursively but does not preserve permissions and ownership by default; -a would be needed.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This 220-1202 question is part of Courseiva's 687-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1202 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1202 exam.