Manual: mv

MV(1)							User Commands						       MV(1)

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.

       --backup[=CONTROL]
	      make a backup of each existing destination file

       -b     like --backup but does not accept an argument

       --debug
	      explain how a file is copied.  Implies -v

       --exchange
	      exchange source and destination

       -f, --force
	      do not prompt before overwriting

       -i, --interactive
	      prompt before overwrite

       -n, --no-clobber
	      do not overwrite an existing file

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

       --no-copy
	      do not copy if renaming fails

       --strip-trailing-slashes
	      remove any trailing slashes from each SOURCE argument

       -S, --suffix=SUFFIX
	      override the usual backup suffix

       -t, --target-directory=DIRECTORY
	      move all SOURCE arguments into DIRECTORY

       -T, --no-target-directory
	      treat DEST as a normal file

       --update[=UPDATE]
	      control which existing files are updated; UPDATE={all,none,none-fail,older(default)}

       -u     equivalent to --update[=older].  See below

       -v, --verbose
	      explain what is being done

       -Z, --context
	      set SELinux security context of destination file to default type

       --help display this help and exit

       --version
	      output version information and exit

       UPDATE  controls	 which existing files in the destination are replaced.	'all' is the default operation when an --up‐
       date 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	 se‐
       lected 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
       GNU coreutils online help: 
       Report any translation bugs to 

SEE ALSO
       rename(2)

       Full documentation 
       or available locally via: info '(coreutils) mv invocation'

       Packaged by Ubuntu (9.7-3ubuntu2)
       Copyright © 2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
       License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later .
       This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
       There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

GNU coreutils 9.7					January 2026						       MV(1)