mv(1) [opendarwin man page]

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 directory.

     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 path-
     name 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 options.)

     -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
								   July 9, 2002 							       BSD

Check Out this Related Man Page

CPMAC(1)						    BSD General Commands Manual 						  CPMAC(1)

NAME

     /usr/bin/CpMac -- copy files preserving metadata and forks

SYNOPSIS

     /usr/bin/CpMac [-rp] [-mac] source target
     /usr/bin/CpMac [-rp] [-mac] source ... directory

DESCRIPTION

     In its first form, the /usr/bin/CpMac utility copies the contents of 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 directory.

     In its second form, /usr/bin/CpMac copies each file named by a source operand to a destination 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 compo-
     nent of the named file.

     The following options are available:

     -r    If source designates a directory, /usr/bin/CpMac copies the directory and the entire subtree connected at that point.  This option also
	   causes symbolic links to be copied, rather than indirected through, and for /usr/bin/CpMac to create special files rather than copying
	   them as normal files.  Created directories have the same mode as the corresponding source directory, unmodified by the process' umask.

     -p    Causes /usr/bin/CpMac to preserve in the copy as many of the modification time, access time, file flags, file mode, user ID, and group
	   ID as allowed by permissions.

     -mac  Allows use of HFS-style paths for both source and target.  Path elements must be separated by colons, and the path must begin with a
	   volume name or a colon (to designate current directory).

NOTES

     The /usr/bin/CpMac command does not support the same options as the POSIX cp command, and is much less flexible in its operands.  It cannot
     be used as a direct substitute for cp in scripts.

     As of Mac OS X 10.4, the cp command preserves metadata and resource forks of files on Extended HFS volumes, so it can be used in place of
     CpMac.  The /usr/bin/CpMac command will be deprecated in future versions of Mac OS X.

SEE ALSO

     cp(1) MvMac(1)

Mac OS X							  April 12, 2004							  Mac OS X

Linux and UNIX Man Pages

mv(1) [opendarwin man page]

Check Out this Related Man Page