NAME
     mv - move files

SYNOPSIS mv [-f | -i] source target mv [-f | -i] source ... 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 operand. 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 -i option is ignored if the -f option is specified.)

-i Causes 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'', the move is at- tempted.

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) system 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

If the user ID and group ID cannot be preserved in the copy, no error message is displayed and the exit value is not altered. See cp(1) for more information regarding the preservation of user, group, set user and set group ID bits, and other file information, by the copy.

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

SEE ALSO cp(1), symlink(7)

STANDARDS The mv utility is expected to be IEEE Std1003.2 (``POSIX'') compatible.

Check out the Unix Man pages Manuals
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1