mv1
Move (rename) files
Usage
mv [OPTION] ...
[-T]
SOURCE
DEST
mv [OPTION] ...
SOURCE ...
DIRECTORY
mv [OPTION] ...
-t
DIRECTORY
SOURCE ...
Overview
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
--backupbut does not accept an argument
-
--debug -
explain how a file is copied. Implies
-v
-
--exchange -
exchange source and destination
-
-f, --force -
do not prompt before overwriting
-
-i, --interactive -
prompt before overwrite
-
-n, --no-clobber -
(deprecated) silently skip existing files. See also
--update
If you specify more than one of -i, -f, -n, only the final one takes effect.
-
--no-copy -
do not copy if renaming fails
-
--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
-
--update[=UPDATE] -
control which existing files are updated; UPDATE={all,none,none-fail,older(default)}
-
-u -
equivalent to
--update[=older]. See below
-
-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
UPDATE controls which existing files in the destination are replaced. 'all' is the default operation when an --update option is not specified, and results in all existing files in the destination being replaced. 'none' is like the --no-clobber option, in that no files in the destination are replaced, and skipped files do not induce a failure. 'none-fail' also ensures no files are replaced in the destination, but any skipped files are diagnosed and induce a failure. 'older' is the default operation when --update is specified, and results in files being replaced if they're older than the corresponding source file.
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 |
|---|---|
numbered, t
|
make numbered backups |
existing, nil
|
numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise |
simple, never
|
always make simple backups |
Releases
19 releases since Debian 1.1 (Buzz); the text changed 15 times.
--context since Debian 8 (Jessie);
--debug since Debian 13 (Trixie);
--exchange since Debian 13 (Trixie);
--no-clobber since Debian 6.0 (Squeeze);
--no-copy since Debian 13 (Trixie);
--no-target-directory since Debian 4.0 (Etch);
--strip-trailing-slashes since Debian 5.0 (Lenny);
--target-directory since Debian 2.2 (Potato);
-T since Debian 4.0 (Etch);
-Z since Debian 8 (Jessie);
-n since Debian 6.0 (Squeeze);
-t since Debian 4.0 (Etch).
--reply until Debian 3.1 (Sarge);
--version-control until Debian 2.1 (Slink);
-V until Debian 2.1 (Slink).