linux mv command – move (rename) files or directories.
Linux mv command is used to rename or move a file or directory to another location.
syntax
mv [OPTION]... [-T] SOURCE DEST
mv [OPTION]... SOURCE... DIRECTORY
mv [OPTION]... -t DIRECTORY SOURCE...
Rename SOURCE to DEST, or move SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY.
options
- –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 - –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
examples
Rename file or directory
➜ mv file.log fileNew.log
➜ mv dir newDir
Move multiple files
➜ mv access.log file.log newDir
OR
➜ mv *.log newDir
Move overwriting without asking (force)
➜ mv -f file.log newDir
Interactive mode move overwrite files and backup original files
If the target file does not exist, it will be created. If the target file exists, a warning will be prompted. Enter “Y” to back up the original file and overwrite it.
➜ mv -bi file.log newDir
OR
➜ mv -biS ~ file.log newDir
Move all files and folders in the current directory
➜ mv * /tmp
move just files
➜ find . -type f -exec mv {} /tmp \;