mv command

mv - move (rename) files and directories

Changes the shell working directory.

Usage: mv [OPTION]... [-T] SOURCE DEST

Copy SOURCE to DEST, or multiple SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY.

• OPTION: Flags which enhances the mv abilities.
• SOURCE: The file or directory you want to copy.
• DEST: The location where you want to copy.

Examples

• Renaming a file

  $ mv oldfile.txt newfile.txt
  • Renames oldfile.txt to newfile.txt in the same directory.
  • If newfile.txt already exists, it will be overwritten without warning.

  Avoid Overwriting:

  If a file with the same name exists at the destination, mv will overwrite it without asking. To avoid this, use the -i (interactive) option which will prompt to confirm before overwriting.

  $ mv -i oldfile.txt newfile.txt

• Moving a file

  To move a file to a different directory, specify the source file and the destination directory.

  $ mv document.txt /home/user/docs/
  • Moves document.txt from the current directory to /home/user/docs/.
  • The file keeps its original name unless you specify a new one.

  To move file with renaming it

  $ mv document.txt /home/user/docs/newdoc.txt
  • Moves and renames document.txt to newdoc.txt in /home/user/docs/.

• Moving multiple files

  You can move multiple files to a directory by listing them before the destination.

  $ mv file1.txt file2.txt /home/user/backup/
  • Moves both file1.txt and file2.txt to /home/user/backup/.
  • Similarly we can use any number of files.

• Moving directories

  Unlike cp, mv doesn’t need a recursive option to move directories, it handles them by default.

  $ mv /home/user/projects /home/user/backup/
  • Moves the entire projects directory and its contents to /home/user/backup/.

• Verbose output

  Want to see what’s happening while the mv operation is running? Use -v (verbose) to display each action.

  $ mv -v file1.txt folder1
  'file1.txt' -> 'folder1/file1.txt'

• Avoiding overwrites with conditions

  -u (update): Only move if the source is newer than the destination or if the destination doesnot exist.

  $ mv -u draft.txt /home/user/final/

  -n (no-clobber): Never overwrite an existing file.

  $ mv -n important.doc /home/user/archive/
  • Skips the move if important.doc already exists in /home/user/archive/.

• Forcing the move

  Use -f (force) to overwrite without prompting, even if the destination exists.

  $ mv -f oldfile.txt /home/user/docs/
  • Overwrites oldfile.txt in /home/user/docs/ silently.

To get help related to the mv command use --help option

$ mv --help
Usage: mv [OPTION]... [-T] SOURCE DEST
  or:  mv [OPTION]... SOURCE... DIRECTORY
  or:  mv [OPTION]... -t DIRECTORY SOURCE...
Rename SOURCE to DEST, or move SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY.

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.
      --backup[=CONTROL]       make a backup of each existing destination file
  -b                           like --backup but does not accept an argument
  -f, --force                  do not prompt before overwriting
  -i, --interactive            prompt before overwrite
  -n, --no-clobber             do not overwrite an existing file
If you specify more than one of -i, -f, -n, only the final one takes effect.
      --strip-trailing-slashes  remove any trailing slashes from each SOURCE
                                 argument
  -S, --suffix=SUFFIX          override the usual backup suffix
  -t, --target-directory=DIRECTORY  move all SOURCE arguments into DIRECTORY
  -T, --no-target-directory    treat DEST as a normal file
  -u, --update                 move only when the SOURCE file is newer
                                 than the destination file or when the
                                 destination file is missing
  -v, --verbose                explain what is being done
  -Z, --context                set SELinux security context of destination
                                 file to default type
      --help     display this help and exit
      --version  output version information and exit

The backup suffix is '~', unless set with --suffix or SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX.
The version control method may be selected via the --backup option or through
the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable.  Here are the values:

  none, off       never make backups (even if --backup is given)
  numbered, t     make numbered backups
  existing, nil   numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise
  simple, never   always make simple backups