---
name: "git-annex-numcopies"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "git-annex"
version: "10.20261026-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/git-annex-numcopies"
---

# git-annex-numcopies(1)

configure desired number of copies

## NAME

git-annex-numcopies - configure desired number of copies

## SYNOPSIS

git annex numcopies **N**

## DESCRIPTION

Tells git-annex how many copies it should preserve of files, over all repositories. The default is 1.

Run without a number to get the current value.

This configuration is stored in the git-annex branch, so it will be seen by all clones of the repository. It can be overridden on a per-file basis by the annex.numcopies setting in .gitattributes files, or can be overridden temporarily with the --numcopies option.

When git-annex is asked to drop a file, it first verifies that the number of copies can be satisfied among all the other repositories that have a copy of the file.

In unusual situations, involving special remotes that do not support locking, and concurrent drops of the same content from multiple repositories, git-annex may violate the numcopies setting. It still guarantees at least 1 copy is preserved. This can be configured by using [git-annex-mincopies(1)](/git-annex-mincopies/1.md)

## OPTIONS

- The [git-annex-common-options(1)](/git-annex-common-options/1.md) can be used.

  -

  ## SEE ALSO

[git-annex(1)](/git-annex/1.md) [git-annex-mincopies(1)](/git-annex-mincopies/1.md) [git-annex-config(1)](/git-annex-config/1.md)

## AUTHOR

Joey Hess \<id@joeyh.name\>