Copying and Moving Files

cp

cp is used to copy files/directories to another directory. To overwrite the target directory, use the -rf option. For more information about the available options, see cp command.

cp [options] source destination

Command options (partial):

Option	Description
-a	archive files
-f	force copy by removing the destination file if needed
-i	interactive - ask before overwrite
-l	link files instead of copy
-L	follow symbolic links
-n	no file overwrite
-R	recursive copy (including hidden files)
-u	update - copy when the source is newer than the destination
-v	verbose - print informative messages

rm

rm is used to remove (delete) files. For more information about the available options, see rm command.

rm [options] <filename>
rm -rf <directory/filename> # force delete files/directories recursively

Command options (partial):

Option	Description
-f, --force	Ignore nonexistent files, and never prompt before removing.
-i	Prompt before every removal.
-r, -R, --recursive	Remove directories and their contents recursively.
-v, --verbose	Verbose mode; explain at all times what is being done.

mv

mv is used to move files or directories to another location.

caution

If the target directory is not empty, this command won't work. In this case, use cp and rm as described in the section below.

mv [options] source destination

Command options:

0ption	Description
-f	force move by overwriting destination file without prompt
-i	interactive prompt before overwrite
-u	update - move when the source is newer than the destination
-v	verbose - print source and destination files

Using rm and cp rather than mv

To move a file to a directory that is not empty (i.e., move files/directory and delete the original one), in which case mv won't work, use the cp command together with rm:

cp -r ./backup/* ./backupArchives && rm -R ./backup/*

• The first command: copies the directory ./backup/* and the files contained to ./backupArchives.

• The second command: deletes the original directory ./backup/*.