# Robocopy

7 Hacker News commenters recommended Robocopy and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Free Windows command-line copier, fast with multithreading and handy for mirroring folders; critics note it cannot detect moved files or bit errors.

## Why people recommend it

- Much faster multithreaded copying (5 comments): "It's so much massively faster it's not like the same application." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46177819)) "Much faster, better multithreaded performance, decent logging." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48159109)) "which could make it go much faster" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46178215))
- Handy for copying whole directories (3 comments): "The /MIR option is extremely useful for incrementally maintaining copies of large local directories." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46857236)) "This can be solved by doing a robocopy of the project to a temporary path" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49021987)) "Used to use it all the time when I worked in a Windows shop." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46857141))

## What people warn about

- Cannot detect file moves or bit errors (2 comments): "Command line file sync tools like rsync or robocopy can't detect file moves" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49057906)) "rsync can detect bit errors and robocopy can't." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49414863))

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Robocopy", https://hackerapproved.com/p/robocopy/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).