Robocopy
Shares rank 12 of 17 file transfer apps by recommenders
Free Windows command-line copier, fast with multithreading and handy for mirroring folders; critics note it cannot detect moved files or bit errors.
Free Windows command-line copier, fast with multithreading and handy for mirroring folders; critics note it cannot detect moved files or bit errors.
12 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 58%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Much faster multithreaded copying
“It's so much massively faster it's not like the same application.”
Comment from 6 Dec 2025 in “Copy-Item is slower than File Explorer” “Much faster, better multithreaded performance, decent logging.”
Comment from 16 May 2026 in “I love Linux, but I can't quit Windows” “which could make it go much faster”
Comment from 7 Dec 2025 in “Copy-Item is slower than File Explorer” - Comment from 16 May 2026 in “I love Linux, but I can't quit Windows”
- Comment from 24 Aug 2026 in “Migrating a Synology NAS to a UniFi UNAS Pro 8 with Robocopy, SMB Multichannel”
Handy for copying whole directories
“The /MIR option is extremely useful for incrementally maintaining copies of large local directories.”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “4x faster network file sync with rclone (vs rsync) (2025)” “This can be solved by doing a robocopy of the project to a temporary path”
Comment from 23 Jul 2026 in “The Unity CLI: manage Unity from your terminal” “Used to use it all the time when I worked in a Windows shop.”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “4x faster network file sync with rclone (vs rsync) (2025)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Cannot detect file moves or bit errors
“Command line file sync tools like rsync or robocopy can't detect file moves”
Comment from 26 Jul 2026 in “No Stack Overflow, No Autocomplete: What Coding Felt Like in the 80s” “rsync can detect bit errors and robocopy can't.”
Comment from 24 Aug 2026 in “Migrating a Synology NAS to a UniFi UNAS Pro 8 with Robocopy, SMB Multichannel”
Other file transfer apps people recommend
The four most recommended other file transfer apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LocalSend | 81 | 25 | 76% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Magic Wormhole | 21 | 6 | 78% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Kermit | 15 | 4 | 79% | 2 | — | — |
| croc | 13 | 3 | 81% | 5 | — | Approved |
| RobocopyThis page | 7 | 5 | 58% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Is pretty easy to remember.”
“Robocopy preserves/transfers creation times by default”
“Starting with robocopy is nuts.”
“I accidentally left the switch off one day and noted it completed in less than half the normal time”
“rsync can detect bit errors and robocopy can't.”
“Command line file sync tools like rsync or robocopy can't detect file moves”
“This can be solved by doing a robocopy of the project to a temporary path”
“Kick those threads way up.”
“Much faster, better multithreaded performance, decent logging.”
“Output success error codes in unexpected range (see: robocopy).”
“The /MIR option is extremely useful for incrementally maintaining copies of large local directories.”
“Used to use it all the time when I worked in a Windows shop.”
“which could make it go much faster”
“It's so much massively faster it's not like the same application.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.