MV(1)                   System General Commands Manual                   MV(1)

NAME
     mv - move files

SYNOPSIS
     mv [-bfhinuv] [-S suffix] source target
     mv [-bfhinuv] [-S suffix] 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.

     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
     operand.  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 options are as follows:

     -b      Create a backup before moving the file. The backup copy will have
             the original filename with a suffix. The default suffix is "~",
             but this can be adjusted with -S or by the environment variable
             MV_BACKUP_SUFFIX. This option current creates a backup of files,
             not directories.

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

     -h      Hide the backup file as a "dot file". This option implies -b.

     -i, --interactive
             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. This option overrides an earlier -f, -n, and -u.

     -n      Do not move a file if the target already exists. This option
             overrides an earlier -f, -i, and -u.

     -S suffix
             Use the string suffix when naming the backup file instead of the
             default suffix of "~".

     -u, --update
             Only perform the move if the target is older than the source
             file.  This option overrides an earlier -f, -i, and -n.

     -v, --verbose
             Verbose mode. Print the target name once the move has finished.

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

     It is an error for either the source operand or the destination path to
     specify a directory unless both do.

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

     As the rename(2) call does not work across file systems, mv uses cp(1)
     and rm(1) to accomplish the move.  The effect is equivalent to:

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

     A move across filesystems will not preserve the setuid or setguid file
     permission bits for security purposes.

     The mv utility exits 0 on success or >0 if an error occurred.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
     MV_BACKUP_SUFFIX
             Specifies a string to use as the filename suffix when making a
             backup.

EXAMPLES
     $ mv -f foo bar

     Rename file foo to bar, overwriting bar if it already exists.

     $ mv -i -- -f bar
     $ mv -i ./-f bar

     Either of these commands will rename the file -f to bar, prompting for
     confirmation if bar already exists.

SEE ALSO
     cp(1), fchmod(2), fchown(2), ln(1), lstat(2), symlink(2,) unlink(2)

STANDARDS
     The mv utility is expected to be IEEE Std 1003.2 (``POSIX.2'') and SUS
     compatible.

HISTORY
     A mv command appeared in Version 1 AT&T UNIX.

Interix                       September, 2, 2004                       Interix