man > mv(1)

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⚡ TLDR: mv (tldr-pages)

Move or rename files and directories.

Rename a file or directory when the target is not an existing directory
mv {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/target}}
Move a file or directory into an existing directory
mv {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/existing_directory}}
Move multiple files into an existing directory, keeping the filenames unchanged
mv {{path/to/source1 path/to/source2 ...}} {{path/to/existing_directory}}
Do not prompt for confirmation before overwriting existing files
mv {{-f|--force}} {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/target}}
Prompt for confirmation interactively before overwriting existing files, regardless of file permissions
mv {{-i|--interactive}} {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/target}}
Do not overwrite existing files at the target
mv {{-n|--no-clobber}} {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/target}}
Move files in verbose mode, showing files after they are moved
mv {{-v|--verbose}} {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/target}}
Specify target directory so that you can use external tools to gather movable files
{{find /var/log -type f -name '*.log' -print0}} | {{xargs -0}} mv {{-t|--target-directory}} {{path/to/target_directory}}

MV(1) User Commands MV(1)

NAME
mv - move (rename) files

SYNOPSIS
mv [OPTION]... [-T] SOURCE DEST
mv [OPTION]... SOURCE... DIRECTORY
mv [OPTION]... -t DIRECTORY SOURCE...

DESCRIPTION
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

--debug
explain how a file is copied. Implies -v

-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.

--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,older(default)}. See below

-u equivalent to --update[=older]

-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 similar to the --no-clobber option, in that no files
in the destination are replaced, but also skipped files do not 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 con‐
trol method may be selected via the --backup option or through the VERSION_CONTROL environ‐
ment 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

AUTHOR
Written by Mike Parker, David MacKenzie, and Jim Meyering.

REPORTING BUGS
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COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2023 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later
<https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to
the extent permitted by law.