Create a timestamped backup of a file

Before editing a config, make a dated backup with a one-liner. The $(date) sub-shell appends the current timestamp.

bash

$ cp nginx.conf nginx.conf.$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).bak # Backup and keep last 5 only: cp important.conf important.conf.$(date +%Y%m%d).bak ls -t important.conf.*.bak | tail -n +6 | xargs rm -f

backupbro2026-04-19

File ManagementScripting

Delete this trick? This cannot be undone.