MV(1)                     BSD General Commands Manual                    MV(1)

NAME
     mv -- move files

SYNOPSIS
     mv [-f | -i | -n] [-v] source target
     mv [-f | -i | -n] [-v] source ... directory

DESCRIPTION
     In its first form, the mv utility renames the file named by the source
     operand to the destination path named by the target operand.  This form
     is assumed when the last operand does not name an already existing direc-
     tory.

     In its second form, mv moves each file named by a source operand to a
     destination file in the existing directory named by the directory oper-
     and.  The destination path for each operand is the pathname produced by
     the concatenation of the last operand, a slash, and the final pathname
     component of the named file.

     The following options are available:

     -f      Do not prompt for confirmation before overwriting the destination
             path.  (The -f option overrides any previous -i or -n options.)

     -i      Cause mv to write a prompt to standard error before moving a file
             that would overwrite an existing file.  If the response from the
             standard input begins with the character `y' or `Y', the move is
             attempted.  (The -i option overrides any previous -f or -n
             options.)

     -n      Do not overwrite an existing file.  (The -n option overrides any
             previous -f or -i options.)

     -v      Cause mv to be verbose, showing files after they are moved.

     It is an error for either the source operand or the destination path to
     specify a directory unless both do.

     If the destination path does not have a mode which permits writing, mv
     prompts the user for confirmation as specified for the -i option.

     As the rename(2) call does not work across file systems, mv uses cp(1)
     and rm(1) to accomplish the move.  The effect is equivalent to:

           rm -f destination_path && \
           cp -pRP source_file destination && \
           rm -rf source_file

DIAGNOSTICS
     The mv utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.

     The command "mv dir/afile dir" will abort with an error message.

LEGACY DIAGNOSTICS
     In legacy mode, the command "mv dir/afile dir" will fail silently,
     returning an exit code of 0.

     For more information about legacy mode, see compat(5).

SEE ALSO
     cp(1), rm(1), symlink(7)

COMPATIBILITY
     The -n and -v options are non-standard and their use in scripts is not
     recommended.

     The mv utility now supports HFS+ Finder and Extended Attributes and
     resource forks.  The mv utility will no longer strip resource forks off
     of HFS files.  For an alternative method, refer to cp(1).

STANDARDS
     The mv utility is expected to be IEEE Std 1003.2 (``POSIX.2'') compati-
     ble.

HISTORY
     A mv command appeared in Version 1 AT&T UNIX.

BSD                              July 9, 2002                              BSD