Using COPY

The syntax for copying objects is a bit difficult. It's because COPY was added later (by Amazon), and squeezed into an existing protocol.

The syntax is

aws copy destination-bucket/destination-object source

The target must be a destination bucket and destination object. The source optionally contains a bucket name. If the source starts with a slash, then it is taken to be a bucket/key. Otherwise, it is taken to be a key, and will be copied into the same bucket as the destination. Thus,

aws copy test682/hello2.txt hello.txt
aws copy test682/hello2.txt /test682/hello.txt

both copy test682/hello.txt to test682/hello2.txt. To copy from a different bucket,

aws copy test682/hello2.txt /test681/hello.txt

Some people misunderstand what happens when you say, without the leading slash,

aws copy test682/hello2.txt test681/hello.txt

This command copies to test682/hello2.txt. However, because of the missing initial slash, the source is taken to be a key only, appended to the target bucket. Thus, the source is test682/test681/hello.txt (bucket test682, key test681/hello.txt). If you make this mistake, you'll likely see "The specified key does not exist."