mv(1)                    USER COMMANDS                      mv(1)



NAME
     mv - move files

SYNOPSIS
     mv [ -f ] [ -i ] file1 [ file2 ...] target

DESCRIPTION
     The mv command moves filen to target.  filen and target  may
     not  have  the  same  name.   (Care must be taken when using
     sh(1) metacharacters).  If target is not a  directory,  only
     one  file  may be specified before it; if it is a directory,
     more than one file may be specified.   If  target  does  not
     exist, mv creates a file named target.  If target exists and
     is not a directory, its contents are overwritten.  If target
     is a directory the file(s) are moved to that directory.

     If mv determines that the mode of target forbids writing, it
     will  print the mode (see chmod(2)), ask for a response, and
     read the standard input for one line.  If  the  line  begins
     with  y,  the mv occurs, if permissible; otherwise, the com-
     mand exits.  When the parent directory of filen is  writable
     and  has  the  sticky  bit set, one or more of the following
     conditions must be true:
          the user must own the file
          the user must own the directory
          the file must be writable by the user
          the user must be a privileged user
     The following options are recognized:

     -i   mv will prompt for confirmation whenever the move would
          overwrite  an  existing  target.  A y answer means that
          the move should proceed. Any other answer  prevents  mv
          from overwriting the target.

     -f   mv will move the file(s) without prompting even  if  it
          is  writing over an existing target.  This option over-
          rides the -i option.  Note that this is the default  if
          the standard input is not a terminal.

     If filen is a directory, target must be a directory  in  the
     same  physical file system.  target and filen do not have to
     share the same parent directory.

     If filen is a file and target is a link to another file with
     links, the other links remain and target becomes a new file.

WARNING
     If filen and target are on different file systems, mv copies
     the  file and deletes the original; any links to other files
     are lost.





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mv(1)                    USER COMMANDS                      mv(1)



NOTES
     A -- permits the user to mark explicitly the end of any com-
     mand  line  options, allowing mv to recognize filename argu-
     ments that begin with a -.  As an aid to BSD  migration,  mv
     will  accept  - as a synonym for --.  This migration aid may
     disappear in a future release.  If a -- and a - both  appear
     on  the same command line, the second will be interpreted as
     a filename.

SEE ALSO
     chmod(1), cpio(1), rm(1).












































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