Repeat the Previous UNIX Argument April 18, 2007 · Shell & text Here's a handy shortcut. Instead of having to retype the argument of a previous command, I use this syntax. Below is an example of copying a SQL script directory to a backup directory on the RAID.#csh#ls -l /home/esofthub/scripts/user_sqlscript_dir#cp -pr !$ /raid/mybackup/.