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

--exchange: exchange source and destination

-f, --force: do not prompt before overwriting

-i, --interactive: prompt before overwrite

-n, --no-clobber: (deprecated) silently skip existing files. See also --update

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,none-fail,older(default)}

-u: equivalent to --update[=older]. See below

-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 like the --no-clobber option, in that no files in the destination are replaced, and skipped files do not induce a failure. 'none-fail' also ensures no files are replaced in the destination, but any skipped files are diagnosed and 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 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

Report bugs to: <[email protected]>.
Report any translation bugs to: <https://translationproject.org/team/>.
GNU coreutils home page: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
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COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2026 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.