GeezerVison is showing github.com — GH-142407: Doc: Clarify shutil.copyfile() does not use CopyFile2 on Windows by CodeSeeed · Pull Request #144354 · python/cpython
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CodeSeeed
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Jan 31, 2026
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The current documentation for shutil implies that all copy functions benefit from fast kernel-space copying on Windows via the CopyFile2 API. However, shutil.copyfile() is an exception — it still uses a userspace read/write loop.
This PR clarifies that:
shutil.copy(), copy2(), copytree(), and move() use CopyFile2 (when available)
shutil.copyfile() does not, and remains a buffered userspace copy
- Provides practical guidance: prefer
copy2() over copyfile() for better performance on Windows when metadata preservation is acceptable
The change has been verified by:
- Building the docs locally with
make html (0 warnings)
- Confirming the rendered HTML displays the updated text correctly
Related to GH-142407.
📚 Documentation preview 📚: https://cpython-previews--144354.org.readthedocs.build/
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CodeSeeed
changed the title
Doc: Clarify that shutil.copyfile() does not use CopyFile2 on Windows
GH-142407: Doc: Clarify shutil.copyfile() does not use CopyFile2 on Windows
Jan 31, 2026
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There is already #142408. Please do not open PRs if there are already ones that exist for the issue.
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