mv

Command Function

This command is used to move files.

Syntax

mv [-fivn] SOURCE... DEST

Parameters

Table 1 Parameter description

Parameter	Description	Value Range
-help	Displays help information.	N/A
-f	Forcibly overwrites the target file.	N/A
-i	Provides a prompt before moving a file that would overwrite an existing file. Enter y to overwrite the file or enter n to cancel the operation.	N/A
-n	Do not overwrite any existing file or directory.	N/A
-v	This parameter does not take effect although it is supported by the latest Toybox code.	N/A
SOURCE	Specifies the path of the source file.	This command cannot be used to move a directory. It can be used to move multiple files at a time.
DEST	Specifies the destination file path.	Both a directory and a file are supported.

Usage

SOURCE supports wildcard characters * and ?. The asterisk (*) indicates any number of characters, and the question mark (?) represents a single character. DEST does not support wildcard characters. If the specified SOURCE matches multiple files, DEST must be a directory.
If DEST is a directory, this directory must exist. In this case, the destination file is named after the source file.
If DEST is a file, the directory for this file must exist.
If the destination file already exists, it will be overwritten.

Example

Run the following commands:

mv -i test.txt testpath/
mv test?.txt testpath/ (Move test3.txt, testA.txt, and test_.txt)

Output

Example 1: moving a file

OHOS:/$ touch test.txt
OHOS:/$ mkdir testpath
OHOS:/$ touch testpath/test.txt
OHOS:/$ mv -i test.txt testpath/
mv: overwrite 'testpath//test.txt' (Y/n):y
OHOS:/$ ls
bin  etc  proc    storage  testpath  usr
dev  lib  sdcard  system   userdata  vendor
OHOS:/$ cp testpath/test.txt ./
OHOS:/$ ls
bin  etc  proc    storage  test.txt  userdata  vendor
dev  lib  sdcard  system   testpath  usr
OHOS:/$ mv -i test.txt testpath/
mv: overwrite 'testpath//test.txt' (Y/n):n
OHOS:/$ ls
bin  etc  proc    storage  test.txt  userdata  vendor
dev  lib  sdcard  system   testpath  usr

Example 2: moving files using wildcards

OHOS:/$ ls
bin  etc  proc    storage  test.txt   testA.txt  testpath  usr
dev  lib  sdcard  system   test3.txt  test_.txt  userdata  vendor
OHOS:/$ mv test?.txt testpath/
OHOS:/$ ls
bin  etc  proc    storage  test.txt  userdata  vendor
dev  lib  sdcard  system   testpath  usr
OHOS:/$ ls testpath/
test.txt  test3.txt  testA.txt  test_.txt