Does Robocopy SKIP copying existing files by default?

Robocopy, short for Robust File Copy, is a command-line utility that is included in the Windows operating system and is used to copy files and directories from one location to another. It is an advanced version of the traditional copy command with additional features that allow more control over how files are copied, including the ability to skip existing files by default.

In order to use Robocopy, you must open a command prompt window. To do this, click on the Start menu, type cmd in the search box, and press Enter. This will open a Command Prompt window.

Once the Command Prompt window is open, you can type “robocopy” followed by a space. This will display a list of options that are available when using Robocopy. The most important option to know about is the /XF switch, which stands for “exclude files.”

The /XF switch is used to tell Robocopy to skip existing files during the copying process. By default, Robocopy will copy all files that it finds, even those that already exist in the destination folder. If the /XF switch is used, Robocopy will skip any files that it finds already existing in the destination folder.

For example, if you were copying files from the C drive to another drive, you could use the command “robocopy c:\\ d:\\ /xf *.txt”. This command would tell Robocopy to copy all files from the C drive to the D drive, but to skip any files that already exist in the D drive.

There are other options that can be used in conjunction with the /XF switch. For example, the /FFT switch can be used to tell Robocopy to use the FAT file system (FAT32 or FAT16) instead of the NTFS file system for copying files. The /S switch can be used to tell Robocopy to copy subdirectories and the /Z switch can be used to tell Robocopy to use a restartable mode, which will resume copying from the point of interruption if the copying process is stopped.

In conclusion, Robocopy is a powerful tool for copying files from one location to another. It has many options that can be used to control how files are copied, including the ability to skip existing files by default using the /XF switch.