mv – move and rename files

mv moves or renames files and directories. Unlike cp, it doesn’t create a copy — the original is removed.

Synopsis

mv [OPTIONS] SOURCE DEST
mv [OPTIONS] SOURCE... DIRECTORY

Common Options

Examples

Rename a file

$ mv oldname.txt newname.txt

Move file to directory

$ mv file.txt /tmp/
$ mv file.txt /tmp/newname.txt

Move multiple files

$ mv file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt /backup/
$ mv *.log /var/log/archive/

Move directory

$ mv project/ archived_project/

Interactive mode (ask before overwriting)

$ mv -i source.txt dest.txt
mv: overwrite 'dest.txt'? y

Don’t overwrite existing

$ mv -n newfile.txt existing.txt
# No error, existing.txt unchanged

Verbose output

$ mv -v *.txt archive/
'file1.txt' -> 'archive/file1.txt'
'file2.txt' -> 'archive/file2.txt'

Create backup when overwriting

$ mv --backup=numbered file.txt /dest/
# Creates file.txt.~1~ if file.txt exists in /dest/

Move only if source is newer

$ mv -u updated.txt /dest/

Common Patterns

Rename with date stamp

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

Batch rename (lowercase to uppercase)

$ for f in *.txt; do mv "$f" "${f^^}"; done

Move and rename simultaneously

$ mv dir1/oldfile.txt dir2/newfile.txt

Swap two files

$ mv file1.txt tmp.txt
$ mv file2.txt file1.txt
$ mv tmp.txt file2.txt

Move vs Rename

When source and destination are on the same filesystem:

• Fast — just updates directory entries (no data copy)

When on different filesystems:

• Slower — actually copies data, then removes original

# Same filesystem = instant
$ mv /home/user/file.txt /home/user/backup/

# Different filesystem = copy + delete
$ mv /home/user/file.txt /mnt/usb/

Tips

• Use -i by default: Add alias mv='mv -i' to ~/.bashrc
• No undo: mv doesn’t have a trash — be careful!
• Rename directories the same way as files
• For complex renames: Use rename command or a loop
• Atomic on same FS: mv is safe for log rotation

See Also

Related Commands

• cp — Copy files (keeps original)
• rm — Remove files
• rename — Batch rename with patterns
• ls — List directory contents

Tutorials

• Basic Unix Commands