.\" SCCSID: @(#)mv.1 8.1 9/11/90 .TH mv 1 .SH Name mv \- move or rename files .SH Syntax .B mv [\fB\-i\fR] [\fB\-f\fR\|] [\fB\-\fR] \fIfile1 file2\fR .PP .B mv [\fB\-i\fR] [\fB\-f\fR\|] [\fB\-\fR] \fIfile... directory\fR .SH Description .NXR "mv command" .NXR "file" "moving" .NXR "file" "renaming" The .PN mv command moves (changes the name of) .I file1 to .IR file2 . .PP If .I file2 already exists, it is removed before .I file1 is moved. When you are using .PN mv from a terminal, and you do not have write permission on .IR file2 , the .PN mv command prompts for confirmation before overwriting the file. For further information, see .MS chmod 2 . .PP In the second form, one or more .I files (plain files or directories) are moved to the .I directory with their original file-names. .PP The .PN mv command refuses to move a file onto itself. .SH Options .IP \fB\-\fR 5 Interprets all following arguments as file names to allow file names starting with a minus. .IP \fB\-f\fR Force. This option overrides any mode restrictions or the \-i switch. .IP \fB\-i\fR Interactive mode. Whenever a move is to supercede an existing file, the user is prompted by the name of the file followed by a question mark. If he answers with a line starting with 'y', the move continues. Any other reply prevents the move from occurring. .SH Restrictions If .I file1 and .I file2 lie on different file systems, .PN mv must copy the file and delete the original. In this case the owner name becomes that of the copying process and any linking relationship with other files is lost. .SH See Also cp(1), ln(1)
