diff --git a/rna-seq.nf b/rna-seq.nf
index 65b4565b05e34f4d720632b597e29b5c15bf8924..763581ac156e5139f51d027792489087bd8df954 100644
--- a/rna-seq.nf
+++ b/rna-seq.nf
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ process getData {
     # link deriva cookie for authentication
     echo -e "LOG: linking deriva cookie" >> ${repRID}.getData.log
     mkdir -p ~/.bdbag
-    ln -sf `readlink -e cookies.txt` ~/.bdbag/deriva-cookies.txt
+    cp `readlink -e cookies.txt` ~/.bdbag/deriva-cookies.txt
     echo -e "LOG: linked" >> ${repRID}.getData.log
 
     # get bag basename