There are two sets of tools with Windows, the command line tools which are

• Robocopy
• XCopy
• copy
• move

And the GUI tools, which use the Windows File Engine. This can perform

• Copy
• Move
• Cut and Paste 

Comparison with Command Line Tools

This table compares the abilities and features of the standard Windows 10 command line tools with CrazyCopy. 

Yes = Supports the feature                   No = Does not Support the feature at all

Limited = Supports some parts of the feature (seek details from Windows tool help)

Yes by default = Supports the feature without specifying additional options. Also supports other behaviour, if other options used

Feature	copy	xcopy	robocopy	CrazyCopy
Copy one file	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Copy multiple files	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Copy full directory trees	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Copy empty directories	No	Yes, with /E	Yes, with /E	Yes by default
Safe Move Copy, Validate Matching Counts, then Remove Source Folder	No	No	No	Yes
Preserve basic file attributes	Limited	Yes	Yes	Yes
Preserve timestamps	Limited	Yes	Yes	Yes
Respects destination permission inheritance	Yes	Yes by default	Yes by default	Yes by default
Copy hidden and system files	Limited	Yes, with /H	Yes	Yes
Retry failed copies	No	Limited	Yes	Yes
Detailed logging	Minimal	Minimal	Extensive	Yes individual File and Folder  Granularity
Multithreaded copying	No	No	Yes, with /MT	Yes by default
User-selectable thread count	No	No	Yes	Yes
Copy symbolic links as links	No	Limited/unreliable	Configurable	Yes by default
Handle junctions safely	No	Limited	Yes, with options such as /XJ	Yes by default
Long-path support	Poor	Poor	Better	Yes
Destination Verification CountingShows files, folders, reparse points, junctions	No	No	No	Yes
Suitable for robust folder copying	No	Limited	Yes	Yes
Prevents Drive Filling with Infinite Nesting Folders Copy parent folder into child folder	No	Yes (can be overriden)	No	Yes(Can be tricked with SUBST)

Xcopy

E:\>xcopy "H:\Temp" "H:\Temp\RecursiveCopyTest\Child" /E
Cannot perform a cyclic copy
0 File(s) copied

Robocopy

E:\>robocopy "H:\Temp" "H:\Temp\RecursiveCopyTest\Child" /E
-------------------------------------------------------------------
   ROBOCOPY     ::     Robust File Copy for Windows
-------------------------------------------------------------------
  Started : August 4, 2026 1:11:41 PM
   Source : H:\Temp\
     Dest : H:\Temp\RecursiveCopyTest\Child\
    Files : *.*
  Options : *.* /S /E /DCOPY:DA /COPY:DAT /R:1000000 /W:30
-------------------------------------------------------------------
                           0    H:\Temp\
        *EXTRA Dir        -1    H:\Temp\RecursiveCopyTest\Child\Child\
          *EXTRA File                 21        New Text Document.txt
          New Dir          0    H:\Temp\RecursiveCopyTest\
          New Dir          1    H:\Temp\RecursiveCopyTest\Child\
100%        New File                  21        New Text Document.txt
          New Dir          1    H:\Temp\RecursiveCopyTest\Child\Child\
100%        New File                  21        New Text Document.txt
          New Dir          0    H:\Temp\RecursiveCopyTest\Child\RecursiveCopyTest\
          New Dir          1    H:\Temp\RecursiveCopyTest\Child\RecursiveCopyTest\Child\
100%        New File                  21        New Text Document.txt
          New Dir          1    H:\Temp\RecursiveCopyTest\Child\RecursiveCopyTest\Child\Child\

CrazyCopy

E:\>CrazyCopy.exe --headless "H:\Temp\RecursiveCopyTest"
"H:\Temp\RecursiveCopyTest\Child" copy false

Log Begun
ERROR: Path validation failed. 
Destination Folder cannot be inside the Source Folder.

Note that Windows can sometimes prevent this type of behaviour (via the GUI)

RecursiveCopyTest
└── Child
    └── RecursiveCopyTest
        └── Child
            └── RecursiveCopyTest
                └── Child
                    └── …Ad infinitum

Comparison with Windows Engine GUI Tools

Comparing the Windows GUI tools, this table shows the different supported features

General Features	Windows File Explorer	CrazyCopy
Graphical interface (GUI)	Yes	Yes
Command-line interface (CLI)	No dedicated copy CLI	Yes
Windows context-menu integration	Yes	Yes
Compact / mini interface	No dedicated mode	Yes
Copy individual files	Yes	No
Copy complete directory trees	Yes	Yes, default
Copy empty directories	Yes	Yes, default
Move files and directories	Yes	Yes
Copy Over (merge existing directories)	Yes	Yes
Safe Move: copy, verify counts, delete source	No equivalent mode	Yes
Destination verification counting	No	Yes
Separate file, folder and link counts	Limited	Yes
Preserve basic file attributes	Yes	Yes
Preserve timestamps	Yes	Yes
Respect destination permission inheritance	Normally	Yes, default
Copy hidden and system files	Yes	Yes
Multithreaded copying	Internal, not user-configurable	Yes, default
User-selectable thread count	No	Yes
Automatic thread selection	Internal	Yes
USB-aware thread limiting	Not user-configurable	Yes
Real-time progress reporting	Yes	Yes
Copy directory symbolic links as links	Varies	Yes, default
Recreate directory junctions	Not guaranteed	Yes, default
Copy Windows shortcuts	Yes	Yes
Junction as source folder	Varies	Yes
Junction as destination folder	Varies	Yes
Directory symlink as source folder	Varies	Yes
Directory symlink as destination folder	Varies	Yes
Shortcut as source folder	Shell resolves	Yes
Shortcut as destination folder	Shell resolves	Yes
Prevent ordinary destination-inside-source copying	Generally	Yes
Protection against SUBST path aliases	Not established	Not yet
Reject cloud placeholders in source	No general rejection	Yes
Long-path support	Varies	Yes
Retry failed copies	Limited	Yes
Detailed copy logging	No persistent detailed log	Yes
Individual file logging	No	Yes
Individual folder logging	No	Yes
Copy error reporting	Dialogs	Yes