mv(1) - NetBSD Manual Pages

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MV(1)                   NetBSD General Commands Manual                   MV(1)


NAME

     mv -- move files


SYNOPSIS

     mv [-fhiv] source target
     mv [-fiv] source ... directory


DESCRIPTION

     In its first form, the mv utility renames the file named by the source
     operand to the destination path named by the target operand.  This form
     is assumed when the last operand does not name an already existing direc-
     tory or when the -h flag is specified.

     In its second form, mv moves each file named by a source operand to a
     destination file in the existing directory named by the directory oper-
     and.  The destination path for each operand is the pathname produced by
     the concatenation of the last operand, a slash, and the final pathname
     component of the named file.

     The following options are available:

     -f    Do not prompt for confirmation before overwriting the destination
           path.

     -h    Try to rename the source to the target irrespective of whether the
           target may resolve to a directory.  This option allows atomically
           replacing a symbolic link to a directory.

     -i    Causes mv to write a prompt to standard error before moving a file
           that would overwrite an existing file.  If the response from the
           standard input begins with the character ``y'', the move is
           attempted.

     -v    Cause mv to be verbose, showing files as they are processed.

     The last of any -f or -i options is the one which affects mv's behavior.

     It is an error for any of the source operands to specify a nonexistent
     file or directory.

     It is an error for the source operand to specify a directory if the
     target exists and is not a directory.

     If the destination path does not have a mode which permits writing, mv
     prompts the user for confirmation as specified for the -i option.

     Should the rename(2) call fail because source and target are on different
     file systems, mv will remove the destination file, copy the source file
     to the destination, and then remove the source.  The effect is roughly
     equivalent to:

           rm -f destination_path && \
           cp -PRp source_file destination_path && \
           rm -rf source_file


EXIT STATUS

     The mv utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.


SEE ALSO

     cp(1), rename(2), symlink(7)


STANDARDS

     The mv utility is expected to be IEEE Std 1003.2 (``POSIX.2'') compati-
     ble.

     The -h and -v options are extensions to IEEE Std 1003.2 (``POSIX.2'').


HISTORY

     An mv utility appeared in Version 1 AT&T UNIX.

NetBSD 10.1                      June 24, 2020                     NetBSD 10.1