4BSD/usr/man/man1/mv.1

.TH MV 1 
.UC 4
.SH NAME
mv \- move or rename files
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B mv
[
.B \-i
] file1 file2
.PP
.B mv
[
.B \-i
] file ... directory
.SH DESCRIPTION
.I Mv
moves (changes the name of)
.I file1
to
.IR file2 .
.PP
If
.I file2
already exists,
it is removed before
.I file1
is moved.
If
.I file2
has a mode which forbids writing,
.I mv
prints the mode (see
.IR chmod (2))
and
reads the standard input to obtain a line;
if the line begins with
.B y,
the move takes place;
if not,
.I mv
exits.
.PP
In the second form,
one or more
.I files
are moved to the
.I directory
with their original
file-names.
.PP
.I Mv
refuses to move a file onto itself.
.PP
Options:
.TP
.B \-i
stands for interactive mode. Whenever a move is to supercede an
existing file, the user is prompted by the name of the file
followed by a question mark. If he answers with a line starting
with 'y', the move continues. Any other reply prevents the move from
occurring.
.TP
.B \-f
stands for force. This option overrides any mode restrictions or the
\-i switch.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
cp(1), ln(1)
.SH BUGS
If
.I file1
and
.I file2
lie on different file systems,
.I mv
must copy the file and delete the original.
In this case the owner name becomes
that of the copying process and any
linking relationship with other files
is lost.
.PP
Directories may only be moved within the same parent
directory.