HowTo: Move A Folder In Linux Using mv Command

mv source target
mv folder1 folder2 target
mv folder1 file1 target
mv -option source target

mv command can be used to move any number of files and folders in a single command. In this example, the following command moves all folders, including all the contents of those directories, from the current directory to the directory called /nas03/users/home/v/vivek

mv * /nas03/users/home/v/vivek

Please note that the asterisk is a wildcard character that represents all files and folders the current directory. In this next example, move only foo and bar folders from the /home/tom directory to the directory called /home/jerry:

mv /home/tom/foo /home/tom/bar /home/jerry

OR

cd /home/tom mv foo bar /home/jerry

mv can see explain what is being done with the -v option i.e. it shows the name of each file before moving it:

mv -v /home/tom/foo /home/tom/bar /home/jerry

Sample outputs:

`/home/tom/foo/' -> `/home/jerry/foo'
`/home/tom/bar/' -> `/home/jerry/bar'

You can prompt before overwrite i.e. pass the -i option to make mv interactive if the same name files/folder already exists in the destination directory:

mv -i foo /tmp

Sample outputs:

mv: overwrite `/tmp/foo'? 

Other options

Taken from the man page of gnu/mv command:

--backup[=CONTROL] make a backup of each existing destination file   -b like --backup but does not accept an argument   -f, --force do not prompt before overwriting   -n, --no-clobber do not overwrite an existing file   If you specify more than one of -i, -f, -n, only the final one takes effect.   --strip-trailing-slashes remove any trailing slashes from each SOURCE argument   -S, --suffix=SUFFIX override the usual backup suffix   -t, --target-directory=DIRECTORY move all SOURCE arguments into DIRECTORY   -T, --no-target-directory treat DEST as a normal file   -u, --update move only when the SOURCE file is newer than the destination file or when the destination file is missing