mv (Unix)

The mv command is a fundamental utility in Unix-like operating systems used for moving or renaming files and directories. Its primary function is to relocate a file or directory from one location in the file system to another, or to change the name of a file or directory within the same location.

When used to move a file or directory to a different location, mv effectively deletes the original entry and creates a new entry at the destination. If the destination already exists, the behavior depends on the type of destination: if the destination is a directory, the source file or directory is moved into the destination directory. If the destination is a file, the mv command typically overwrites the existing destination file, unless protected by options like -n (no-clobber).

When used to rename a file or directory, mv changes the name of the item in its current location without physically moving the data. This is often a much faster operation than moving to a different file system, as it only involves modifying the file system's metadata.

The mv command is part of the GNU coreutils package and is typically available by default on most Unix-like systems, including Linux distributions and macOS. Its behavior is largely standardized across different implementations, although specific options and features may vary slightly.