How to use aws s3 cp wildcards to copy group of files in aws cli ?

27.0K    Asked by FukudaAshikaga in AWS , Asked on Apr 20, 2021

I am unable to copy some files from a S3 bucket in AWS CLI

Adding * to the path is not helping:

aws s3 cp s3://personalfiles/file* 

Don’t know how to use aws s3 cp wildcard. Please help

Answered by Fukuda Ashikaga

To download multiple files from an aws bucket to your current directory, you can use recursive , exclude , and include flags. The order of the parameters matters. The exclude and include should be used in a specific order, We have to first exclude and then include.

 You can use 3 high-level S3 commands that are inclusive, exclusive and recursive.

--include and --exclude are used to specify rules that filter the objects or files to be copied during the sync operation or if they have to be deleted

Using recursive command on a file or directory, the command walks the directory tree including all the sub-directories

Syntax:
--exclude "*" --include "*.txt" \All files will be excluded from the command except for files ending with .txt 

--include "*.txt" --exclude "*" \All files will be excluded from the comand

Syntax:
aws s3 cp /tmp/foo/ s3://bucketfiles/ --recursive --exclude "*" --include "*.jpg"
Try the coded provided below:
aws s3 cp s3://personalfiles/ . --recursive --exclude "*" --include "file*”

Your Answer

Answers (2)

Using aws s3 cp with wildcards in AWS CLI is an efficient way to copy groups of files between local systems and S3 buckets or within S3 itself. Here’s a breakdown of how to use it effectively:


1. Syntax for aws s3 cp

  • The basic syntax for copying files is:

  aws s3 cp   [options]

  • When dealing with multiple files, wildcards can help you specify patterns to match file names.

2. Using Wildcards with --recursive

Wildcard Support:

AWS S3 CLI supports shell-style wildcards like * to match multiple files.

Example:

  aws s3 cp s3://your-bucket-name/ local-folder/ --recursive --exclude "*" --include "*.txt"

  • --recursive: Copies all files matching the criteria in subdirectories.
  • --exclude and --include: Filters files using patterns (e.g., .txt, .jpg).

3. Copy Specific Groups of Files

To copy files with a specific extension:

  aws s3 cp s3://your-bucket-name/ local-folder/ --recursive --include "*.csv"

To copy files with a prefix:

  aws s3 cp s3://your-bucket-name/ local-folder/ --recursive --include "logs_*"

4. Copy Between S3 Locations

You can also use wildcards to copy files between two S3 buckets:

  aws s3 cp s3://source-bucket/ s3://destination-bucket/ --recursive --include "*.jpg"

5. Exclude Files

To exclude certain file types, use the --exclude flag:

  aws s3 cp s3://your-bucket-name/ local-folder/ --recursive --exclude "*.tmp"

6. Notes and Limitations

  • Wildcards apply to object keys, not directory paths.
  • Always use --recursive to handle folders and subfolders.
  • Run --dryrun before executing to preview the files:

  aws s3 cp s3://your-bucket-name/ local-folder/ --recursive --dryrun

By combining wildcards, --include, and --exclude, you can precisely control which files to copy. Let me know if you need help with a specific example!

3 Weeks

To copy a group of files in AWS CLI using wildcards with the aws s3 cp command, follow these steps:

Specify the source path with the wildcard pattern to match the group of files you want to copy.

Provide the destination S3 bucket and optionally specify the destination path.

If the source path includes subdirectories, use the --recursive flag.

Here's an example command:

aws s3 cp s3://source-bucket/path/to/files/* s3://destination-bucket/destination-path/ --recursive

s3://source-bucket/path/to/files/* specifies the source path with the wildcard * to match a group of files in the specified directory.

s3://destination-bucket/destination-path/ specifies the destination S3 bucket and path where the files will be copied.

The --recursive flag is used to copy files recursively if the source path includes subdirectories.

Adjust the source and destination paths according to your requirements. This command will copy all files matching the wildcard pattern from the source bucket to the destination bucket.

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