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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 op-
	   tions.)

     -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.

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.

STANDARDS
     The mv utility is expected	to be IEEE Std 1003.2 ("POSIX.2") compatible.

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

BSD				August 18, 2002				   BSD

NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | DIAGNOSTICS | SEE ALSO | COMPATIBILITY | STANDARDS | HISTORY

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