Skip to content

Linux commands: mv

New Course Coming Soon:

Get Really Good at Git

A quick guide to the mv command, used to move files and folders

Once you have a file, you can move it around using the mv command. You specify the file current path, and its new path:

touch test
mv pear new_pear

The pear file is now moved to new_pear. This is how you rename files and folders.

If the last parameter is a folder, the file located at the first parameter path is going to be moved into that folder. In this case, you can specify a list of files and they will all be moved in the folder path identified by the last parameter:

touch pear
touch apple
mkdir fruits
mv pear apple fruits #pear and apple moved to the fruits folder

This command works on Linux, macOS, WSL, and anywhere you have a UNIX environment

Are you intimidated by Git? Can’t figure out merge vs rebase? Are you afraid of screwing up something any time you have to do something in Git? Do you rely on ChatGPT or random people’s answer on StackOverflow to fix your problems? Your coworkers are tired of explaining Git to you all the time? Git is something we all need to use, but few of us really master it. I created this course to improve your Git (and GitHub) knowledge at a radical level. A course that helps you feel less frustrated with Git. Launching Summer 2024. Join the waiting list!
→ Get my Linux Command Line Handbook

Here is how can I help you: