Move And Rename A File

The mv command stands for move. It is used to move a file to a different location or to rename a file — both actions use the exact same command.

The basic format is:

mv source destination

Renaming a file:

To rename readme.txt to info.txt:

mv readme.txt info.txt

The file stays in the same directory but now has a new name.

Moving a file to another directory:

To move readme.txt into the documents folder:

mv readme.txt documents/

The original file is removed from the current directory and placed inside documents.

Moving and renaming at the same time:

You can move a file to a new location and give it a new name in one command:

mv readme.txt documents/info.txt

Note: Unlike cp, mv does not keep the original file — it is moved, not copied.

Use -i to get a prompt before overwriting an existing file:

mv -i readme.txt documents/