codex-lv2-may-2025

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Lesson: Move and Rename Files Using mv

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Step 1: Rename a File

• Change to the writing directory:

  cd ~/Desktop/shell-lesson-data/exercise-data/writing
  

• Rename draft.txt inside the thesis folder to quotes.txt:

  mv thesis/draft.txt thesis/quotes.txt
  

• Check the result:

  ls thesis
  

  Output should show:

  quotes.txt
  

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Step 2: Move the File to the Current Directory

• Move quotes.txt out of thesis and into the current folder:

  mv thesis/quotes.txt .
  

• Confirm that thesis is now empty:

  ls thesis
  

  Output:

  (no output)
  

• Try listing the file directly:

  ls thesis/quotes.txt
  

  This should return an error:

  ls: cannot access 'thesis/quotes.txt': No such file or directory
  

• Verify that quotes.txt is now in the current directory:

  ls quotes.txt
  

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Step 3: Avoid Overwriting Files

• Be cautious: mv will overwrite files without asking.

• To prompt for confirmation before overwriting, use the -i (interactive) option:

  mv -i file1.txt file2.txt
  

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Example: Move Multiple Files to Another Directory

Note: these files are not in the lesson data. You do not need to do this part. Just read it and try and guess the answer.

Imagine Jamie has some files she wants to analyze. After running the following commands, Jamie realizes that she put the files sucrose.dat and maltose.dat into the wrong folder. The files should have been placed in the raw folder.

Current structure:

  $ ls -F
  analyzed/  raw/
  $ ls analyzed
  fructose.dat  glucose.dat  maltose.dat  sucrose.dat
  $ cd analyzed

• Goal: Move sucrose.dat and maltose.dat into the raw/ folder:

Can you guess the answer?

Click to reveal the answer

    $ mv sucrose.dat maltose.dat ../raw
    

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Reflection Questions

• What are the risks of using mv without the -i option?
• How does the . symbol help simplify moving files?

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