MV(1)

📦
version 9.12 · 27 versions
, in arch rolling

💖 MV(1) — the move/rename girlies' bible 💖

okay bestie, welcome to MV(1), a User Commands icon from the GNU coreutils manual set. this is the one that moves and renames your files. she's simple, she's powerful, she will absolutely overwrite your stuff if you don't pay attention. let's get into it 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

mv — move (rename) files 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

mv [OPTION]... [-T] SOURCE DEST
mv [OPTION]... SOURCE... DIRECTORY
mv [OPTION]... -t DIRECTORY SOURCE...

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

the whole vibe, in one line: rename SOURCE to DEST, or move SOURCE(s) into DIRECTORY. that's it. that's the girl.

⭐ mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too. no exceptions, no shortcuts, periodt.

here's every single option, and yes we're doing all of them, because you deserve the full picture:

  • --backup[=CONTROL] — makes a backup of each existing destination file. she's preserving the lore.
  • -b — like --backup but does not accept an argument. same energy, less talking.
  • --debug — explains how a file is copied. this one implies -v 👑
  • --exchange — exchanges source and destination. they swap places, main character energy on both sides.
  • -f, --force — do not prompt before overwriting. she does not ask, she does not text back.
  • -i, --interactive — prompt before overwrite. she WILL check in with you first, bestie.
  • -n, --no-clobber — (deprecated) silently skips existing files. see also --update. yeah she's a little outdated, still valid though.
  • --no-copy — do not copy if renaming fails. if she can't rename it, she's not doing the whole copy thing either.
  • --strip-trailing-slashes — removes any trailing slashes from each SOURCE argument. cleaning up after the slashes, so thoughtful.
  • -S, --suffix=SUFFIX — overrides the usual backup suffix.
  • -t, --target-directory=DIRECTORY — moves all SOURCE arguments into DIRECTORY. one destination, many sources, very efficient.
  • -T, --no-target-directory — treats DEST as a normal file. no "oh you must have meant a folder" assumptions here.
  • --update[=UPDATE] — controls which existing files get updated; UPDATE={all,none,none-fail,older(default)}
  • -u — equivalent to --update[=older]. see below 👇
  • -v, --verbose — explains what is being done. she narrates. she's a talker. we love her.
  • -Z, --context — sets SELinux security context of destination file to default type.
  • --help — display this help and exit.
  • --version — output version information and exit.
💀 if you specify more than one of -i, -f, -n, only the final one takes effect. last one wins, no negotiating.

🌈 all about UPDATE 🌈

UPDATE controls which existing files in the destination get replaced. here's the tea:

  • 'all' is the default operation when an --update option is not specified, and results in all existing files in the destination being replaced. no thoughts, just replace.
  • 'none' is like the --no-clobber option, in that no files in the destination are replaced, and skipped files do not induce a failure. she's gentle about it.
  • 'none-fail' also ensures no files are replaced in the destination, but any skipped files are diagnosed and induce a failure. she's gentle but she's also telling on you.
  • 'older' is the default operation when --update is specified, and results in files being replaced if they're older than the corresponding source file. out with the old, fr fr.

🎀 backup suffixes & methods 🎀

the backup suffix is '~', unless you set it with --suffix or SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX. the version control method may be selected via the --backup option or through the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable. here are the values, bestie:

  • none, off — never make backups (even if --backup is given). living dangerously, iconic.
  • numbered, t — make numbered backups.
  • existing, nil — numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise. she reads the room first.
  • simple, never — always make simple backups.

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Written by Mike Parker, David MacKenzie, and Jim Meyering. kings, all of them. 🫶

🐛 REPORTING BUGS 🐛

found a bug? not her fault, but please tell the team:

Copyright © 2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.

This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.

There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. say it with me. no warranty. none. 💀

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

okay that's the whole page, you're officially a mv scholar now, go rename something responsibly and don't mv your home directory by accident 😭

GNU coreutils 9.12 · September 2026 · that's the whole MV(1) page, mwah 💅✨

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