diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 008f8fb..4c552d7 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -710,11 +710,11 @@ When you run `domstack --eject`, it will:
 
 It is recomended to eject early in your project so that you can customize the root layout as you see fit, and de-couple yourself from potential unwanted changes in the default layout as new versions of DOMStack are released.
 
-### `--copy` directories
+### `--copy` directories and files
 
-You can specify directories to copy into your `dest` directory using the `--copy` flag. Everything in those directories will be copied as-is into the destination, including js, css, html and markdown, preserving the internal directory structure. Conflicting files are not detected or reported and will cause undefined behavior.
+You can specify directories or individual files to copy into your `dest` directory using the `--copy` flag. Everything in those directories will be copied as-is into the destination, including js, css, html and markdown, preserving the internal directory structure. Individual files (such as a `_redirects` or `sw.js`) are copied to the root of the destination. Conflicting files are not detected or reported and will cause undefined behavior.
 
-Copy folders must live **outside** of the `dest` directory. Copy directories can be in the src directory allowing for nested builds. In this case they are added to the ignore glob and ignored by the rest of `domstack`.
+Copy paths must live **outside** of the `dest` directory. Copy directories can be in the src directory allowing for nested builds. In this case they are added to the ignore glob and ignored by the rest of `domstack`.
 
 This is useful when you have legacy or archived site content that you want to include in your site, but don't want `domstack` to process or modify it.
 In general, static content should live in your primary `src` directory, however for merging in old static assets over your domstack build is sometimes easier to reason about when it's kept in a separate folder and isn't processed in any way.
diff --git a/bin.js b/bin.js
index 560ef5d..ac31707 100755
--- a/bin.js
+++ b/bin.js
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ const options = {
   },
   copy: {
     type: 'string',
-    help: 'path to directories to copy into dist; can be used multiple times',
+    help: 'path to directories or individual files to copy into dist; can be used multiple times',
     multiple: true
   },
   help: {
diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index 3a062db..91a810f 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ export class DomStack {
     await this.#rebuildMaps(siteData)
 
     // ── Copy watchers & browser-sync ─────────────────────────────────────
-    const copyDirs = getCopyDirs(this.opts.copy)
+    const copyDirs = await getCopyDirs(this.opts.copy)
 
     this.#cpxWatchers = [
       cpx.watch(getCopyGlob(this.#src), this.#dest, { ignore: this.opts.ignore }),
diff --git a/lib/build-copy/index.js b/lib/build-copy/index.js
index 5b81b9e..c8c483d 100644
--- a/lib/build-copy/index.js
+++ b/lib/build-copy/index.js
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 // @ts-expect-error
 import cpx from 'cpx2'
 import { join } from 'node:path'
+import { stat } from 'node:fs/promises'
 const copy = cpx.copy
 
 /**
@@ -15,11 +16,22 @@ const copy = cpx.copy
 
 /**
  * @param  {string[]} copy
- * @return {string[]}
+ * @return {Promise<string[]>}
  */
-export function getCopyDirs (copy = []) {
-  const copyGlobs = copy?.map((dir) => join(dir, '**'))
-  return copyGlobs
+export async function getCopyDirs (copy = []) {
+  const globs = await Promise.all(copy.map(async (entry) => {
+    try {
+      const stats = await stat(entry)
+      if (stats.isDirectory()) {
+        return join(entry, '**')
+      }
+    } catch {
+      // Path not accessible yet — treat as directory glob
+      return join(entry, '**')
+    }
+    return entry
+  }))
+  return globs
 }
 
 /**
@@ -36,22 +48,22 @@ export async function buildCopy (_src, dest, _siteData, opts) {
     warnings: [],
   }
 
-  const copyDirs = getCopyDirs(opts?.copy)
+  const copyGlobs = await getCopyDirs(opts?.copy)
 
-  const copyTasks = copyDirs.map((copyDir) => {
-    return copy(copyDir, dest)
+  const copyTasks = copyGlobs.map((copyGlob) => {
+    return copy(copyGlob, dest)
   })
 
   const settled = await Promise.allSettled(copyTasks)
 
   for (const [index, result] of Object.entries(settled)) {
     // @ts-expect-error
-    const copyDir = copyDirs[index]
+    const copyGlob = copyGlobs[index]
     if (result.status === 'rejected') {
-      const buildError = new Error('Error copying copy folders', { cause: result.reason })
+      const buildError = new Error(`Error copying copy path: ${copyGlob}`, { cause: result.reason })
       results.errors.push(buildError)
     } else {
-      results.report[copyDir] = result.value
+      results.report[copyGlob] = result.value
     }
   }
   return results
diff --git a/lib/build-copy/index.test.js b/lib/build-copy/index.test.js
index 4651210..595a0ca 100644
--- a/lib/build-copy/index.test.js
+++ b/lib/build-copy/index.test.js
@@ -1,11 +1,41 @@
 import { test } from 'node:test'
 import assert from 'node:assert'
+import { mkdtemp, writeFile, rm } from 'node:fs/promises'
+import { join } from 'node:path'
+import os from 'node:os'
 import { getCopyDirs } from './index.js'
 
 test.describe('build-copy', () => {
-  test('getCopyDirs returns correct src/dest pairs', async () => {
-    const copyDirs = getCopyDirs(['fixtures'])
+  test('getCopyDirs appends ** for non-existent paths', async () => {
+    const dir = await mkdtemp(join(os.tmpdir(), 'domstack-copy-test-'))
+    const missingPath = join(dir, 'does-not-exist')
+    try {
+      const copyDirs = await getCopyDirs([missingPath])
+      assert.deepStrictEqual(copyDirs, [join(missingPath, '**')])
+    } finally {
+      await rm(dir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    }
+  })
+
+  test('getCopyDirs returns file path as-is for existing files', async () => {
+    const dir = await mkdtemp(join(os.tmpdir(), 'domstack-copy-test-'))
+    const file = join(dir, 'sw.js')
+    try {
+      await writeFile(file, 'self.addEventListener("fetch", () => {})')
+      const result = await getCopyDirs([file])
+      assert.deepStrictEqual(result, [file])
+    } finally {
+      await rm(dir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    }
+  })
 
-    assert.deepStrictEqual(copyDirs, ['fixtures/**'])
+  test('getCopyDirs appends ** for existing directories', async () => {
+    const dir = await mkdtemp(join(os.tmpdir(), 'domstack-copy-test-'))
+    try {
+      const result = await getCopyDirs([dir])
+      assert.deepStrictEqual(result, [join(dir, '**')])
+    } finally {
+      await rm(dir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    }
   })
 })