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Home Forums How do you copy file metadata (creation date, attributes) along with the file? – MindStick
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1 Answers

Anubhav Sharma
Anubhav Sharma 25 May 2025
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To copy a file along with its metadata such as creation date, modification date, and file attributes, you need more than just a standard file copy. Most basic File.Copy or shutil.copy calls do not preserve everything by default.

Below are solutions for copying file content + metadata across different platforms.

C# (.NET)

Full Copy (including timestamps and attributes)

using System;
using System.IO;

public static void CopyFileWithMetadata(string sourcePath, string destinationPath)
{
    // Copy the file content and metadata
    File.Copy(sourcePath, destinationPath, overwrite: true);

    // Copy timestamps
    File.SetCreationTime(destinationPath, File.GetCreationTime(sourcePath));
    File.SetLastWriteTime(destinationPath, File.GetLastWriteTime(sourcePath));
    File.SetLastAccessTime(destinationPath, File.GetLastAccessTime(sourcePath));

    // Copy file attributes (e.g., ReadOnly, Hidden)
    File.SetAttributes(destinationPath, File.GetAttributes(sourcePath));
}
  • File.Copy() copies the file content.
  • File.Set*Time() replicates creation and modification timestamps.
  • File.SetAttributes() copies attributes like ReadOnly, Hidden, etc.

Python

Use shutil.copy2() to copy file + metadata

import shutil

def copy_file_with_metadata(src, dst):
    shutil.copy2(src, dst)
  1. copy2() copies the content and metadata (timestamps, mode).
  2. On most platforms, copy2 will preserve modification and access times. Creation time is preserved on Windows.
  3. Note: On Unix, creation time (ctime) often cannot be set or preserved directly, as it's managed by the file system.

Linux/macOS (Command Line)

Use cp -p or rsync

cp -p source.txt destination.txt

-p preserves mode, ownership, and timestamps.

Or use rsync:

rsync -a source.txt destination.txt

-a (archive mode) copies content with all metadata preserved.

Windows (Command Line)

Use robocopy to preserve metadata

robocopy sourceDir targetDir filename.txt /COPYALL

/COPYALL includes timestamps, ACLs, owner info, attributes.

Summary

Language Tool Metadata Preserved
C# Manual Set*Time + SetAttributes Creation, last modified, attributes
Python shutil.copy2 Most metadata (not all on Unix)
Bash cp -p, rsync -a Timestamps, mode
Windows robocopy /COPYALL All metadata (NTFS only)
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