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; UP-
DATE={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 speci-
fied, and results in all existing files in the destination being re-
placed. '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 corre-
sponding source file.
The backup suffix is '~', unless set with --suffix or SIM-
PLE_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
AUTHOR
Written by Mike Parker, David MacKenzie, and Jim Meyering.
REPORTING BUGS
GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>
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.
SEE ALSO
rename(2)
Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/mv>
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) mv invocation'
GNU coreutils 9.4 June 2025 MV(1)
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