Files

SKILL.mdagentsreferences

Install

Install the containing plugin

/plugin install shared-skills@llm-skills

Invoke this skill after installation

/shared-skills:mv

Download mv-skill.zip

This skill is bundled inside shared-skills. Install the plugin once, then Claude Code can use any of its included skills. Browse the full plugin repository at github.com/alisonaquinas/llm-shared-skills.

SKILL.md

name: mv description: > Move or rename files and directories with mv. Use when the agent needs to rename a file or directory in place, relocate files to a different directory, reorganise a directory tree, or safely replace a destination file with an atomic move on the same filesystem.

mv

Move or rename files and directories, with control over overwrite behaviour and backup creation.

Quick Start

Verify availability: mv --version (GNU) or man mv
Rename a file: mv old-name.txt new-name.txt
Move to a directory: mv file.txt /target/dir/

Intent Router

references/cheatsheet.md — Rename, move single and multiple files, overwrite control, verbose mode
references/advanced-usage.md — Atomic replacement, backup suffixes, cross-filesystem behaviour, moving directory trees
references/troubleshooting.md — Cross-filesystem errors, permission denied, destination-exists edge cases

Core Workflow

Confirm source path and destination before running — mv is not undoable without a backup
Use -i (interactive) to prompt before overwriting, or -n to refuse to overwrite
Use -v to confirm each move in batch operations
For cross-filesystem moves, be aware that mv falls back to a copy-then-delete internally
Verify result with ls -l on the destination

Quick Command Reference

mv old.txt new.txt                  # Rename a file in place
mv file.txt /target/dir/            # Move file to directory
mv file.txt /target/dir/new.txt     # Move and rename in one step
mv -i source.txt dest.txt           # Prompt before overwriting
mv -n source.txt dest.txt           # Never overwrite an existing destination
mv -v *.log /archive/               # Verbose: print each file moved
mv -b source.txt dest.txt           # Back up destination before overwriting
mv --backup=numbered src dest       # Numbered backups (GNU)
mv dir/ /new/parent/                # Move entire directory
man mv                              # Full manual

Safety Notes

Area	Guardrail
Irreversible by default	Unlike `cp`, `mv` removes the source. There is no built-in undo. Verify destination before running, especially in scripts.
Silent overwrite	`mv` overwrites the destination without warning by default. Use `-i` interactively or `-n` in scripts to prevent accidental data loss.
Cross-filesystem	When source and destination are on different filesystems, `mv` performs a copy-then-delete. If interrupted, data can be left in both or neither location. Use `rsync` with `--remove-source-files` for safer cross-filesystem moves.
Directory trailing slash	`mv src dest` where `dest` is an existing directory moves `src` inside `dest`. Omit the trailing slash or check with `test -d dest` to confirm intent.
Root-owned files	Moving files you do not own requires elevated privileges. Prefer `sudo mv` only after confirming the operation.

Source Policy

Treat man mv and mv --help as runtime truth. GNU and BSD mv differ slightly.
For large or cross-filesystem moves where atomicity matters, use rsync --remove-source-files.
In scripts, check exit code and destination before deleting any backup.

mv