mv(1)




NAME

     mv - move files


SYNOPSIS

     /usr/bin/mv [-fi] source target_file

     /usr/bin/mv [-fi] source...   target_dir

     /usr/xpg4/bin/mv [-fi] source target_file

     /usr/xpg4/bin/mv [-fi] source...  target_dir


DESCRIPTION

     In the first synopsis form, the mv utility  moves  the  file
     named  by the source operand to the destination specified by
     the target_file. source and target_file  may  not  have  the
     same  name. If target_file does not exist, mv creates a file
     named target_file. If target_file exists, its  contents  are
     overwritten.  This  first  synopsis form is assumed when the
     final operand does not name an existing directory.

     In the second synopsis form, mv moves each file named  by  a
     source  operand to a destination file in the existing direc-
     tory named by the target_dir operand. The  destination  path
     for  each  source  is the concatenation of the target direc-
     tory, a single slash character (/), and the last  path  name
     component  of  the  source. This second form is assumed when
     the final operand names an existing directory.

     If mv determines that the mode of target_file forbids  writ-
     ing,  it  will  print  the  mode  (see  chmod(2)), ask for a
     response, and read the standard input for one line.  If  the
     response is affirmative, the mv occurs, if permissible; oth-
     erwise, the command exits. Notice that  the  mode  displayed
     may  not  fully represent the access permission if target is
     associated with an ACL. When the parent directory of  source
     is  writable  and has the sticky bit set, one or more of the
     following conditions must be true:

        o  the user must own the file

        o  the user must own the directory

        o  the file must be writable by the user

        o  the user must be a privileged user

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

     If source and target_file/target_dir are on  different  file
     systems,  mv copies the source and deletes the original. Any
     hard links to other files  are  lost.  mv  will  attempt  to
     duplicate  the  source  file  characteristics to the target,
     that is, the owner and group id, permission modes, modifica-
     tion  and  access  times,  ACLs, and extended attributes, if
     applicable.  For symbolic links, mv will preserve  only  the
     owner and group of the link itself.

     If unable to preserve owner and  group  id,  mv  will  clear
     S_ISUID  and  S_ISGID  bits  in  the target. mv will print a
     diagnostic message to stderr if unable to clear these  bits,
     though  the exit code will not be affected. mv may be unable
     to preserve extended attributes if the  target  file  system
     does  not  have extended attribute support. /usr/xpg4/bin/mv
     will print a diagnostic message  to  stderr  for  all  other
     failed  attempts to duplicate file characteristics. The exit
     code will not be affected.

     In order to preserve the source file characteristics,  users
     must  have  the  appropriate  file  access permissions. This
     includes being super-user or having the same owner id as the
     destination file.


OPTIONS

     The following options are supported:

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

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

  /usr/bin/mv
     Specifying both the -f and the -i options is not  considered
     an error. The -f option will override the -i option.

  /usr/xpg4/bin/mv
     Specifying both the -f and the -i options is not  considered
     an  error.  The  last  option  specified  will determine the
     behavior of mv.


OPERANDS

     The following operands are supported:

     source
           A path name of a file or directory to be moved.

     target_file
           A new path name for the file or directory being moved.

     target_dir
           A path name of an existing  directory  into  which  to
           move the input files.


USAGE

     See largefile(5) for the description of the behavior  of  mv
     when encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte ( 2
    **31 bytes).


ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

     See environ(5) for descriptions of the following environment
     variables  that  affect  the  execution of mv: LANG, LC_ALL,
     LC_CTYPE, LC_MESSAGES, and NLSPATH.


EXIT STATUS

     The following exit values are returned:

     0     All input files were moved successfully.

     >0    An error occurred.


ATTRIBUTES

     See attributes(5) for descriptions of the  following  attri-
     butes:

  /usr/bin/mv
     ____________________________________________________________
    |       ATTRIBUTE TYPE        |       ATTRIBUTE VALUE       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Availability                | SUNWcsu                     |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | CSI                         | Enabled                     |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Interface Stability         | Stable                      |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|

  /usr/xpg4/bin/mv
     ____________________________________________________________
    |       ATTRIBUTE TYPE        |       ATTRIBUTE VALUE       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Availability                | SUNWxcu4                    |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | CSI                         | Enabled                     |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Interface Stability         | Standard                    |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|


SEE ALSO

     cp(1), cpio(1), ln(1), rm(1), setfacl(1),  chmod(2),  attri-
     butes(5), environ(5), fsattr(5), largefile(5), standards(5)


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.


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