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MV

Section: User Commands (1)
Updated: February 2026
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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.

X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-backup'--backup[=CONTROL]X'tty: link': make a backup of each existing destination file
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-b'-bX'tty: link': like --backup but does not accept an argument
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-debug'--debugX'tty: link': explain how a file is copied. Implies -v
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-exchange'--exchangeX'tty: link': exchange source and destination
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-f'-f, --forceX'tty: link': do not prompt before overwriting
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-i'-i, --interactiveX'tty: link': prompt before overwrite
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-n'-n, --no-clobberX'tty: link': do not overwrite an existing file

If you specify more than one of -i, -f, -n, only the final one takes effect.

X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-n-copy'--no-copyX'tty: link': do not copy if renaming fails
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-stri-trailin-slashes'--strip-trailing-slashesX'tty: link': remove any trailing slashes from each SOURCE argument
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-S'-S, --suffix=,SUFFIXX'tty: link'/: override the usual backup suffix
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-t'-t, --target-directory=,DIRECTORYX'tty: link'/: move all SOURCE arguments into DIRECTORY
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-T'-T, --no-target-directoryX'tty: link': treat DEST as a normal file
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-update'--update[=UPDATE]X'tty: link': control which existing files are updated; UPDATE={all,none,none-fail,older(default)}
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-u'-uX'tty: link': equivalent to --update[=,older/]. See below
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-v'-v, --verboseX'tty: link': explain what is being done
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#m-Z'-Z, --contextX'tty: link': set SELinux security context of destination file to default type
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/mv#m-help'--helpX'tty: link': display this help and exit
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/mv#m-version'--versionX'tty: link': 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: bug-coreutils@gnu.org

Report Gentoo bugs to: https://bugs.gentoo.org/
GNU coreutils home page: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
General help using GNU software: <https://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>
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