Moving and Renaming (mv)

The mv command moves files and directories, or renames them. It's a versatile command for organizing your filesystem.

Basic Usage

mv source destination

Two Uses of mv

1. Moving Files

Move a file to a different location:

mv file.txt /new/location/
mv document.pdf ~/documents/

2. Renaming Files

Rename a file (move to same location with different name):

mv oldname.txt newname.txt
mv report.txt final_report.txt

mv Options

Option	Description
-i	Interactive (prompt before overwrite)
-n	No overwrite (never overwrite existing)
-v	Verbose (show files being moved)
-f	Force (don't prompt, override -i)

Moving Directories

Unlike cp, mv doesn't need -r for directories:

mv old_folder new_folder      # Rename directory
mv folder /new/location/      # Move directory

Exercise: Rename a File

Rename the file notes.txt to important_notes.txt:

Moving Multiple Files

Move multiple files to a directory:

mv file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt destination/

With wildcards:

mv *.txt documents/
mv *.jpg photos/

Interactive Mode

Prevent accidental overwrites:

mv -i source.txt existing.txt
# Prompts: overwrite 'existing.txt'?

Common Patterns

Organize by Extension

mv *.pdf documents/
mv *.jpg *.png images/
mv *.mp3 music/

Rename with Timestamp

mv report.txt report_$(date +%Y%m%d).txt

Move and Rename

mv ~/downloads/file.txt ~/documents/renamed_file.txt

mv vs cp

Feature	mv	cp
Original file	Removed	Kept
Speed	Fast (same filesystem)	Slower (copies data)
Directories	No -r needed	Needs -r
Use case	Reorganize	Duplicate

Troubleshooting

Error	Cause	Solution
cannot stat	Source doesn't exist	Check the path
Not a directory	Dest exists as file	Choose different name
Permission denied	No access	Check permissions

Key Takeaways

• mv moves and renames files/directories
• Same location = rename, different location = move
• No -r needed for directories
• Use -i to confirm overwrites
• Original file is removed (unlike cp)