New Linux converts coming from the Windows world may find working with the command line to be somewhat intimidating. However, it's not that diffi...

Basic & Useful Linux Commands - TCMHACK

Basic & Useful Linux Commands

<p>Moving files and directories is one of the most basic tasks you often need to perform on a Linux system.</p>



<p>In this tutorial, we will explain how to use the&nbsp;<code>mv</code>&nbsp;command to move files and directories.</p>



<h2 id="how-to-use-the-mv-command">How to Use the mv Command</h2>



<p>The&nbsp;<code>mv</code>&nbsp;command (short from move) is used to rename and move and files and directories from one location to another. The syntax for the&nbsp;<code>mv</code>&nbsp;command is as follows:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv [OPTIONS] source destination</code></pre>



<p>The&nbsp;<code>source</code>&nbsp;can be one or more files or directories and&nbsp;<code>destination</code>&nbsp;can be a single file or directory.</p>



<ul><li>If you specify multiple files or directories as a <code>source</code>, the <code>destination</code>  must be a directory. In this case, the <code>source</code> files are moved to the target directory.</li><li>If you specify a single file as <code>source</code>, and the <code>destination</code> target is an existing directory then the file is moved to the specified directory.</li><li>If you specify a single file as <code>source</code>, and a single file as <code>destination</code> target then you’re renaming the file.</li><li>If the <code>source</code> is a directory and <code>destination</code> doesn’t, exist <code>source</code> will be renamed to <code>destination</code>, otherwise it be moved inside the <code>destination</code> directory.</li></ul>



<p>To move a file or directory you need to have write permissions on both <code>source</code> and <code>destination</code>. Otherwise, you will receive a permission denied error.</p>



<p>For example, to move the file&nbsp;<code>file1</code>&nbsp;from the current working directory to the&nbsp;<code>/tmp</code>&nbsp;directory you would run:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv file1 /tmp</code></pre>



<p>To rename a file specify the destination file name:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv file1 file2</code></pre>



<p>The command for moving directories is the same as when moving files. In the following example if the&nbsp;<code>dir2</code>&nbsp;directory exists the command will move&nbsp;<code>dir1</code>inside&nbsp;<code>dir2</code>. If&nbsp;<code>dir2</code>&nbsp;doesn’t exist,&nbsp;<code>dir1</code>&nbsp;will be renamed to&nbsp;<code>dir2</code>:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv dir1 dir2</code></pre>



<h2 id="moving-multiple-files-and-directories">Moving Multiple Files and Directories</h2>



<p>To move multiple files and directories, specify the files you want to move as the source. For example to move the files&nbsp;<code>file1</code>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<code>file2</code>&nbsp;to the&nbsp;<code>dir1</code>&nbsp;directory you would type:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv file1 file2 dir1</code></pre>



<p>The&nbsp;<code>mv</code>&nbsp;command also allows you to use pattern matching. For example, to copy all pdf files from the current directory to the&nbsp;<code>~/Documents</code>&nbsp;directory you would use:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv *.pdf ~/Documents</code></pre>



<h2 id="mv-command-options">mv Command Options</h2>



<p>The <code>mv</code> command accepts options that affect default command behavior. In some Linux distributions <code>mv</code> may be an <strong>alias</strong> to the <code>mv</code> command with a custom set of options. For example in CentOS <code>mv</code> is an alias to <code>mv -i</code>. You can find whether <code>mv</code> is an alias using the <code>type</code> command:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>type mv</code></pre>



<p>If&nbsp;<code>mv</code>&nbsp;is alias the output will look something like this:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv is aliased to `mv -i'</code></pre>



<p>If you specify conflicting options, the option specified last takes precendence.</p>



<h3 id="prompt-before-overwriting">Prompt before overwriting</h3>



<p>By default if the destination file exists it will be overwritten. To prompt for confirmation use the&nbsp;<code>-i</code>&nbsp;option:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv -i file1 /tmp</code></pre>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv: overwrite '/tmp/file1'?</code></pre>



<p>To overwrite the file type the character&nbsp;<code>y</code>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<code>Y</code>.</p>



<h3 id="force-overwriting">Force overwriting</h3>



<p>If you try to overwrite a read only file the&nbsp;<code>mv</code>&nbsp;command will prompt you whether you want to overwrite the file:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv -i file1 /tmp</code></pre>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv: replace '/tmp/file1', overriding mode 0400 (r--------)? </code></pre>



<p>To avoid being prompted use the&nbsp;<code>-f</code>&nbsp;options:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv -f file1 /tmp</code></pre>



<p>This option is especially useful when you need to overwrite multiple reed only file.</p>



<h3 id="do-not-overwrite-existing-files">Do not overwrite existing files</h3>



<p>The&nbsp;<code>-n</code>&nbsp;option tells&nbsp;<code>mv</code>&nbsp;never to overwrite any existing file:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv -f file1 /tmp</code></pre>



<p>If a&nbsp;<code>file1</code>&nbsp;exists the command above will do nothing, otherwise it will copy the file to the&nbsp;<code>/tmp</code>&nbsp;directory.</p>



<h3 id="backing-up-files">Backing up files</h3>



<p>If the destination file exists you can create a backup of it using the&nbsp;<code>-b</code>&nbsp;option:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv -b file1 /tmp</code></pre>



<p>The backup file will have the same name as the original file with a tilde (<code>~</code>) appended to it.</p>



<p>Use the <strong>ls command</strong> to verify that the backup was created:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>ls /tmp/file1*</code></pre>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>/tmp/file1  /tmp/file1~</code></pre>



<h3 id="verbose-output">Verbose output</h3>



<p>Another option that can be useful is&nbsp;<code>-v</code>. When using this option the command will print the name of each moved file:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>mv -i file1 /tmp</code></pre>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>renamed 'file1' -> '/tmp/file1'</code></pre>



<h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2>



<p>By now you should have a good understanding of how to use the&nbsp;<code>mv</code>&nbsp;command to move files and directories. New Linux users who are intimidated by the command line can use the GUI file manager to move their files.</p>



<p>For more information about the <code>mv</code> command check the <a href="https://ss64.com/bash/mv.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">man page</a>.</p>



<p>If you have any question or feedback, feel free to leave a comment.<br></p>

Moving files and directories is one of the most basic tasks you often need to perform on a Linux system.



In this tutorial, we will explain how...

Basic & Useful Linux Commands

How to Move Files and Directories in Linux with the mv Command