# Copy, Move and Rename: cp and mv mv moves a file into another folder or gives it a new name, cp makes a copy and leaves the original where it was, cp -r copies a whole folder, and -i or -n stop either one from replacing a file by surprise. Novice · Unix · Linux · Updated November 10, 2026 ## After this lesson you can - Move and rename files with mv, and copy files and folders with cp and cp -r - Keep cp and mv from replacing a file by surprise with -i or -n ## Key takeaways - mv moves a file, first what to move and then where. Given a new name instead of a folder, it renames the file. - cp makes a copy and leaves the original where it was. cp -r copies a folder and everything inside it. - When a file with the same name is already there, cp and mv replace it without asking. -i asks first, and -n never replaces anything. Your Downloads folder holds a boarding pass, a lease, a resume and a phone's worth of photos with names like `IMG_2051.jpg`. Sorting it takes three jobs: putting a file in the right folder, giving a photo a name you'll recognize, and keeping a copy of something before you change it. A file manager does each with a drag or a right-click, one file at a time. In the terminal, two short commands cover all three, from any folder to any other. ## Set up the practice folder The examples use the same mess as *Making Folders and Files: mkdir and touch*, in a folder of its own, so this lesson starts fresh whatever you did last time. Copy these lines into your terminal; they're safe to run again: ```bash mkdir -p ~/terminal-practice/copy-and-move && cd ~/terminal-practice/copy-and-move mkdir -p photos music documents touch IMG_2041.jpg IMG_2042.jpg IMG_2043.jpg IMG_2051.jpg beach-day.png touch boarding-pass.pdf lease.pdf resume.docx road-trip-mix.mp3 rainy-day.mp3 touch receipt-2026-01.pdf receipt-2026-02.pdf receipt-2026-05.pdf receipt-2026-11.pdf ls ``` ```text IMG_2041.jpg boarding-pass.pdf rainy-day.mp3 resume.docx IMG_2042.jpg documents receipt-2026-01.pdf road-trip-mix.mp3 IMG_2043.jpg lease.pdf receipt-2026-02.pdf IMG_2051.jpg music receipt-2026-05.pdf beach-day.png photos receipt-2026-11.pdf ``` ## mv: move it, or rename it `mv` (short for *move*) takes two things: what to move, then where to put it. Move the boarding pass into `documents`: ```bash mv boarding-pass.pdf documents/ ls documents ``` ```text boarding-pass.pdf ``` It has left the Downloads folder and sits in `documents` now: one file in a new place, like carrying a box to another room. The `/` at the end of `documents/` says "this is a folder". It's optional, and a good habit: if there were no `documents` folder, `mv` would stop with an error instead of renaming your file to `documents`. Renaming is moving a file to a new name in the same folder, so `mv` renames too. Give two photos names you'll recognize, the second one moved into `photos` as well: ```bash mv IMG_2051.jpg birthday-cake.jpg mv IMG_2043.jpg photos/first-day-of-school.jpg ls photos ``` ```text first-day-of-school.jpg ``` Read `photos/first-day-of-school.jpg` as the file's new address: the folder, then the new name. ## cp: a copy, and the original stays `cp` (short for *copy*) takes the same two things but works like a photocopier: the original stays where it was. Before you edit your resume, keep a copy of the version that works, and put a copy of the lease in `documents`: ```bash cp resume.docx resume-before-edits.docx cp lease.pdf documents/ ls ls documents ``` ```text IMG_2041.jpg documents rainy-day.mp3 receipt-2026-11.pdf IMG_2042.jpg lease.pdf receipt-2026-01.pdf resume-before-edits.docx beach-day.png music receipt-2026-02.pdf resume.docx birthday-cake.jpg photos receipt-2026-05.pdf road-trip-mix.mp3 boarding-pass.pdf lease.pdf ``` `lease.pdf` is in both places now, and both resumes are in the Downloads folder. ![Two before-and-after rows. In the top row, cp lease.pdf documents/ leaves lease.pdf in the Downloads folder and puts a second lease.pdf in documents. In the bottom row, mv boarding-pass.pdf documents/ takes boarding-pass.pdf out of the Downloads folder and puts it in documents, so there is still only one](https://fsdtrainingmedia.blob.core.windows.net/public/images/2026/11/84a9fb214cf9410ba8b68f6c4a51c12b.webp) A folder needs one more letter. Without it, `cp` skips the folder: ```bash cp documents documents-backup ``` ```text cp: -r not specified; omitting directory 'documents' ``` `-r` stands for *recursive*: the folder, everything inside it, and everything inside that, all the way down. `mv` needs no `-r`, because it moves a folder the same way as a file. ```bash cp -r documents documents-backup ls documents-backup ``` ```text boarding-pass.pdf lease.pdf ``` ## No surprises: -i and -n Your landlord fixes a typo and sends the lease again, and it downloads as `lease.pdf`, the same name as the copy in `documents`. Here's the catch: when a file with the same name is already there, `cp` and `mv` replace it with no question and no message. The old one is gone, and the terminal has no trash can to get it back from. Add `-i` (for *interactive*), and they ask first. Type `y` and Enter to replace the file, or `n` and Enter to leave it alone: ```bash mv -i lease.pdf documents/ ``` ```text mv: overwrite 'documents/lease.pdf'? n ``` `-n` (for *no-clobber*: never knock over what's there) doesn't ask. It never replaces a file, so the file you tried to move or copy stays put. `cp -i` and `cp -n` work the same way as `mv -i` and `mv -n`: ```bash mv -n lease.pdf documents/ cp -n lease.pdf documents/ ls lease.pdf ``` ```text cp: warning: behavior of -n is non-portable and may change in future; use --update=none instead lease.pdf ``` `mv -n` said nothing. On newer Linux systems such as this Ubuntu, `cp -n` prints a warning that `-n` works differently on some systems, and it still leaves the file alone. (On a Mac, the `-i` question is worded a little differently.) The new lease is still in the Downloads folder, so give it a name of its own, and both are safe: ```bash mv lease.pdf documents/lease-2027.pdf ls documents ``` ```text boarding-pass.pdf lease-2027.pdf lease.pdf ``` Make `-i` a habit whenever you copy or move into a folder that already has files in it. ## Try it in the terminal [Terminal Quest: Moving Day, goal 5](https://www.ask-codey.com/games/terminal-quest/new-place/bash/step): played right on the lesson page. Your books and kitchen things are unpacked. Now copy the spare key into the mailbox for your neighbor. Copy, don't move: you need a key too. ## Check yourself 2 questions to try on the lesson page. ## So what Sorting files is moving, renaming and copying them, and `mv` and `cp` do all three from any folder to any other. With `-i`, nothing you meant to keep gets replaced along the way. ## Key terms - [mv](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/mv) - [cp](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/cp) ## Cheat sheets - [Copy, Move and Rename: cp and mv](https://www.ask-codey.com/cheat-sheets/bash-copy-move-rename-cheat-sheet) ## Related - [Making Folders and Files: mkdir and touch](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/bash-making-folders-and-files) - [Wildcards: \*, ? and \[ \]](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/bash-wildcards) Source: https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/bash-copy-move-rename