Moving & Renaming Items (mv)
Command Equivalents
| Linux Command | PowerShell Cmdlet | Aliases |
|---|---|---|
mv | Move-Item | mv, mi |
Description
The Move-Item cmdlet in PowerShell serves a dual purpose, just like the mv command in Linux:
- It moves a file or directory from one location to another.
- It renames a file or directory.
A key difference from other cmdlets is that Move-Item does not require the -Recurse parameter when moving a directory that contains items. The command moves the entire directory tree by default.
Common Usage
Moving a File
To move a file, specify its current path and the destination directory.
powershell
# Moves the report.docx file from Downloads to Documents
Move-Item -Path "C:\Users\Default\Downloads\report.docx" -Destination "C:\Users\Default\Documents\"Moving a Directory
Moving a directory and all its contents is straightforward. -Recurse is not needed.
powerShell
# Moves the entire 'MyProject' directory to an archive folder
Move-Item -Path "C:\source\MyProject" -Destination "D:\Archives\"Renaming a File
To rename a file, use Move-Item and specify the new name as the destination, keeping the path the same.
powerShell
# Renames 'temp-data.csv' to 'final-data.csv' in the current directory
Move-Item -Path ".\temp-data.csv" -Destination ".\final-data.csv"Renaming a Directory
The same logic applies to renaming directories.
powerShell
# Renames the 'Build' folder to 'Build-Archive'
Move-Item -Path ".\Build" -Destination ".\Build-Archive"Forcing a Move
If an item with the same name already exists at the destination, you can use the -Force parameter to overwrite it without a confirmation prompt.
powerShell
# Moves the config file, overwriting the destination if it exists
Move-Item -Path ".\config.xml" -Destination "C:\App\Deployment\" -Force