[Go to CFHT Home Page] Man Pages
Back to Software Index  BORDER=0Manpage Top Level
    mv(1) manual page Table of Contents

Name

mv - move files

Synopsis

/usr/bin/mv [-fi] source target_file
/usr/bin/mv [-fi] source... target_dir

/usr/xpg4/bin/mv [-fi] source target_file
/usr/xpg4/bin/mv [-fi] source... target_dir

Availability

/usr/bin/mv

SUNWcsu

/usr/xpg4/bin/mv

SUNWxcu4

Description

The two sets of synopses reflect the difference between /usr/bin/mv and /usr/xpg4/bin/mv when both the -f and the -i options are specified (see OPTIONS below). Each set of synopses contains two forms.

In the first synopsis form, the mv utility moves the file named by the source operand to the destination specified by the target_file. source and target_file may not have the same name. If target_file does not exist, mv creates a file named target_file. If target_file exists, its contents are overwritten. This first synopsis form is assumed when the final operand does not name an existing directory.

In the second synopsis form, mv moves each file named by a source operand to a destination file in the existing directory named by the target_dir operand. The destination path for each source is the concatenation of the target directory, a single slash character (/), and the last path name component of the source. This second form is assumed when the final operand names an existing directory.

If mv determines that the mode of target_file forbids writing, it will print the mode (see chmod(2) ), ask for a response, and read the standard input for one line. If the line begins with y, the mv occurs, if permissible; otherwise, the command exits. Note that the mode displayed may not fully represent the access permission if target is associated with an ACL. When the parent directory of source is writable and has the sticky bit set, one or more of the following conditions must be true:

If source is a directory, target_dir must be a directory in the same physical file system. target_dir and source do not have to share the same parent directory.

If source is a file and target_file is a link to another file with links, the other links remain and target_file becomes a new file.

Options

-f
mv will move the file(s) without prompting even if it is writing over an existing target. Note that this is the default if the standard input is not a terminal.
-i
mv will prompt for confirmation whenever the move would overwrite an existing target . A y answer means that the move should proceed. Any other answer prevents mv from overwriting the target.

/usr/bin/mv

Specifying both the -f and the -i options is not considered an error. The -f option will override the -i option.

/usr/xpg4/bin/mv

Specifying both the -f and the -i options is not considered an error. The last option specified will determine the behavior of mv.

Operands

The following operands are supported:
source
A path name of a file or directory to be moved.
target_file
A new path name for the file or directory being moved.
target_dir
A path name of an existing directory into which to move the input files.

Environment

The following environment variables affect the execution of mv.

See environ(5) for descriptions of the following environment variables that affect the execution of mv: LC_COLLATE, LC_TYPE, LC_MESSAGES, and NLSPATH .

Exit Status

The following exit values are returned:
  1. All input files were moved successfully.
    >0
    An error occurred.

    See Also

    cp(1) , cpio(1) , ln(1) , rm(1) , setfacl(1) , chmod(2) , environ(5)

    Notes

    If source and target_dir are on different file systems, mv copies the file and deletes the original; any links to other files are lost.

    A ‘--’ permits the user to mark explicitly the end of any command line options, allowing mv to recognize filename arguments that begin with a ‘-’. As an aid to BSD migration, mv will accept ‘-’ as a synonym for ‘--’. This migration aid may disappear in a future release. If a ‘--’ and a ‘-’ both appear on the same command line, the second will be interpreted as a filename.

    Table of Contents