How do I copy a folder and all its contents in PowerShell?

Use Copy-Item -Path C:\Source -Destination C:\Target -Recurse. To copy only what's inside the folder, use C:\Source\* as the path.

Does Copy-Item overwrite existing files?

Yes. Copy-Item replaces files with the same name without asking. Add -Force only if the destination file is read-only.

How do I skip files that already exist?

Check each target with Test-Path before copying, or run robocopy source destination /E /XC /XN /XO.

Why does Copy-Item say it could not find a part of the path?

A folder in the destination path doesn't exist. Create it first with New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force, then copy.

How do I exclude a folder when copying with Copy-Item?

Use -Exclude with a path that ends in \*, but it only skips top-level folders. For a folder at any depth, run robocopy source destination /E /XD FolderName.

PowerShell Copy-Item: Copy Files and Folders With Examples

Copy-Item is the PowerShell cmdlet that copies files and folders. Give it a -Path and a -Destination, and add -Recurse when you’re copying a folder with everything inside it:

Copy-Item -Path C:\psfaqs\Reports\q3-sales.xlsx -Destination C:\psfaqs\Backup
Get-ChildItem -Path C:\psfaqs\Backup -Name

Output:

q3-sales.xlsx

That’s the whole idea. The details matter, though, because Copy-Item has a few habits that surprise people, like creating a file where you expected a folder, or nesting a folder inside itself on the second run.

I’ll walk through each case with the output I got in PowerShell 7.6 and Windows PowerShell 5.1. Both versions behaved the same in every example here.

This Tutorial Covers:

Copy-Item syntax and parameters

Copy-Item [-Path] <string[]> [[-Destination] <string>] [-Recurse] [-Force]
          [-Filter <string>] [-Include <string[]>] [-Exclude <string[]>] [-PassThru] [-WhatIf]

Parameter	What it does
`-Path`	The file or folder to copy. Wildcards such as `*.xlsx` are allowed
`-Destination`	Where the copy goes. Put a new file name here to rename while copying
`-Recurse`	Copies a folder’s subfolders and files, not just the top level
`-Force`	Copies over read-only files
`-Filter`	One wildcard pattern, applied by the file system (fastest)
`-Include` / `-Exclude`	One or more patterns; they only work when `-Path` ends in `\*`
`-PassThru`	Returns the copied items, so you can see what was copied
`-WhatIf`	Shows what would be copied without copying anything

You’ll also see the aliases copy, cp and cpi in other people’s scripts. They all run Copy-Item, but spell it out in scripts you share.

Copy-Item always leaves the original in place. If you want the file gone from the source, move the file to a folder with Move-Item instead.

Copy a file and rename it

To copy and rename in one step, put the new file name in -Destination. Here I add today’s date to the name:

$today = Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd'
Copy-Item -Path C:\psfaqs\Reports\q3-sales.xlsx -Destination "C:\psfaqs\Backup\q3-sales-$today.xlsx"
Get-ChildItem -Path C:\psfaqs\Backup -Name

Output:

q3-sales-2026-10-25.xlsx

For more renaming patterns, see how to copy and rename files in PowerShell.

How do I copy files from one folder to another in PowerShell?

Add \* to the end of the source folder and use -Recurse. This copies everything inside Reports, including the Monthly subfolder, straight into Backup:

Copy-Item -Path C:\psfaqs\Reports\* -Destination C:\psfaqs\Backup -Recurse
Get-ChildItem -Path C:\psfaqs\Backup -Recurse -Name

Output: