Monitoring Linux File Copy Progress

1. Introduction

The process of copying files on a Linux system is a common task performed by system administrators and users alike. While the Linux command line provides various ways to copy files, it often lacks a built-in mechanism to monitor the progress of the file copy operation. In this article, we will explore different methods to monitor the progress of a file copy operation in Linux.

2. Using 'cp' Command with 'pv' Command

The 'cp' command is commonly used to copy files and directories in Linux. However, it does not provide a progress indicator by default. To add progress monitoring, we can combine the 'cp' command with the 'pv' command, which is a utility for monitoring data throughput.

2.1 Installing 'pv' Command

If 'pv' command is not installed on your system, you can install it using the package manager. For example, on Ubuntu, you can use the following command to install 'pv':

sudo apt-get install pv

2.2 Monitoring File Copy Progress

To monitor the progress of a file copy operation using the 'cp' and 'pv' commands, we can use a pipe to redirect the output of 'cp' to 'pv'. Here's an example:

cp source_file destination_file | pv -lep -s size_of_source_file > /dev/null

This command will display the progress of the file copy operation, including the percentage completed, data transfer rate, and estimated time remaining. The 'size_of_source_file' should be replaced with the size of the source file in bytes.

Note: The output of the above command is redirected to '/dev/null' to hide the actual file copy progress from the terminal. If you want to see the progress in real-time, you can remove the redirection to '/dev/null'.

3. Using 'rsync' Command

Another command commonly used for file copying in Linux is 'rsync'. 'rsync' is a powerful utility that can copy files locally or remotely while providing various options for monitoring the progress of the file copy operation.

3.1 Installing 'rsync' Command

If 'rsync' command is not installed on your system, you can install it using the package manager. For example, on Ubuntu, you can use the following command to install 'rsync':

sudo apt-get install rsync

3.2 Monitoring File Copy Progress

To monitor the progress of a file copy operation using the 'rsync' command, we can use the '--progress' option. Here's an example:

rsync --progress source_file destination_file

This command will display the progress of the file copy operation, including the percentage completed, data transfer rate, and estimated time remaining.

4. Using 'progress' Command

If you prefer a simpler solution, you can use the 'progress' command, which is a utility specifically designed to monitor the progress of file copy operations in Linux.

4.1 Installing 'progress' Command

The 'progress' command can be installed using the package manager. For example, on Ubuntu, you can use the following command to install 'progress':

sudo apt-get install progress

4.2 Monitoring File Copy Progress

To monitor the progress of a file copy operation using the 'progress' command, simply use it as a prefix to the 'cp' command. Here's an example:

progress cp source_file destination_file

This command will display the progress of the file copy operation, including the percentage completed, data transfer rate, and estimated time remaining.

5. Conclusion

In this article, we explored different methods to monitor the progress of a file copy operation in Linux. By combining the 'cp' command with 'pv', using the 'rsync' command with the '--progress' option, or utilizing the 'progress' command, we can now track the progress of file copying and better manage our file transfer tasks on Linux systems.