move - Move files and folders
Moving specific files or folders to another location is a common task when working with the command prompt.
On this page, we cover the move command prompt and batch files, which are often used to manipulate folders on a PC. We explain how to delete files, from basic usage to setting options, in an easy-to-understand way. We also provide specific sample code.
What is the move command?
The move command allows you to move specified files or folders to another location.
The basic usage of the move command is as follows:
move <file or folder to be moved> <destination file or folder>
The most basic usage of the move command is to specify the file or folder to be moved and the destination file or folder, as shown above. However, more detailed usage is available as follows.
move [{/y|-y}] <file or folder to be moved> <destination file or folder>
By using the /y option, you can control whether or not to display a message when a file already exists in the destination folder.
When /y is specified, the confirmation message for overwriting files will not be displayed, even if the file already exists.
By default, a confirmation message is displayed, but even if you specify /-y, the confirmation message for overwriting files will still be displayed.
Examples of the move command
To move a file named test.txt that exists in the current directory to the folder C:\test, use the following command:
move test.txt C:\test
When you run the above code, the following output is displayed:
In the above example, since there is no file named test.txt in the destination folder c:\, the move is completed and the process ends.
If there is a file with the same name test.txt in the destination folder, the following output is displayed:
If you enter No, the file will not be moved and the following output will be displayed:
If you enter Yes or All, the file will be moved and the following output will be displayed:
If the source is a folder and you enter All, the confirmation message for subsequent file movements will not be displayed.
/y option
In the previous example, a confirmation message was displayed when a file with the same name existed in the destination folder.
By specifying the /y option, you can overwrite without displaying a confirmation message.
Regardless of whether or not there is a file with the same name in the destination folder, no confirmation message is displayed and the following output is displayed:
Moving folders
If you select a folder as the target to move, all files in the folder will also be moved.
Assume that there is a sample folder with the following structure:
└─sample
sample01.txt
sample02.txt
sample03.txt
sample04.txt
To move the sample folder to the C:\test folder, use the following command:
After execution, the C:\test folder will have the following structure:
C:\test
│
└─sample
sample01.txt
sample02.txt
sample03.txt
sample04.txt
Renaming with the move command
In the previous examples, we did not specify the file name of the destination.
If you do not specify a file name, the file name of the source will be used as the file name of the destination.
To change the file name of the source and destination, use the following command:
The same applies to folders. If you specify a non-existent folder, the folder name of the source will be used as the folder name of the destination.
After the move, the C:\test folder will have the following structure:
C:\test
│
└─disposable
sample01.txt
sample02.txt
sample03.txt
sample04.txt
If there is already a folder named C:\test\disposable, the structure will be as follows:
C:.
│
└─disposable
│
└─sample
sample01.txt
sample02.txt
sample03.txt
sample04.txt