032-the-mv-command.md

The mv command

The mv command lets you move one or more files or directories from one place to another in a file system like UNIX. It can be used for two distinct functions:

• To rename a file or folder.
• To move a group of files to a different directory.

Note: No additional space is consumed on a disk during renaming, and the mv command doesn't provide a prompt for confirmation

Syntax:

mv [options] source (file or directory)  destination

Examples:

1. To rename a file called old_name.txt:

mv old_name.txt new_name.txt

2. To move a file called essay.txt from current directory to a directory called assignments and rename it essay1.txt:

mv essay.txt assignments/essay1.txt

3. To move a file called essay.txt from current directory to a directory called assignments without renaming it

mv essay.txt assignments

Additional Flags and their Functionalities:

Short Flag	Long Flag	Description
-f	--force	Force move by overwriting destination file without prompt
-i	--interactive	Interactive prompt before overwrite
-u	--update	Move only when the source file is newer than the destination file or when the destination file is missing
-n	--no-clobber	Do not overwrite an existing file
-v	--verbose	Print source and destination files
-b	--backup	Create a Backup of Existing Destination File