diff --git a/libs/file/copy_owners b/libs/file/copy_owners
index c2bf1b1..db99bc6 100644
--- a/libs/file/copy_owners
+++ b/libs/file/copy_owners
@@ -48,6 +48,10 @@ function file::copy_owners() {
   local user; user=$(stat -c '%U' "$source")
   local group; group=$(stat -c '%G' "$source")
 
-  [[ "$recursive" == "true" ]] && local options="-R"
-  sudo chown "${options:-}" "$user:$group" "$destination"
+  local command=(sudo chown)
+  if [[ "$recursive" == "true" ]]; then
+    command+=(-R)
+  fi
+
+  "${command[@]}" "$user:$group" "$destination"
 }