diff --git a/libsql-ffi/build.rs b/libsql-ffi/build.rs
index 90f6c0150b..193e161ecd 100644
--- a/libsql-ffi/build.rs
+++ b/libsql-ffi/build.rs
@@ -76,8 +76,12 @@ fn copy_dir_all(src: impl AsRef<Path>, dst: impl AsRef<Path>) -> io::Result<()>
 /// propagate into OUT_DIR. If not present, when trying to rewrite a file, a `Permission denied`
 /// error will occur.
 fn copy_with_cp(from: impl AsRef<Path>, to: impl AsRef<Path>) -> io::Result<()> {
-    match Command::new("cp")
-        .arg("--no-preserve=mode,ownership")
+    let mut command = Command::new("cp");
+    // --no-preserve is enabled by default on macos
+    // preserve must be explicitly enabled with the -p flag
+    #[cfg(not(target_os = "macos"))]
+    let command = command.arg("--no-preserve=mode,ownership");
+    match command
         .arg("-R")
         .arg(from.as_ref().to_str().unwrap())
         .arg(to.as_ref().to_str().unwrap())