Move (command)

move

The ReactOS move command
Developer(s)	Microsoft, IBM, JP Software, DR, Novell, Joe Cosentino, ReactOS Contributors
Written in	FreeDOS, ReactOS: C
Operating system	MS-DOS, PC DOS, MSX-DOS, OS/2, eComStation, ArcaOS, Windows, DR DOS, FreeDOS, ReactOS
Platform	Cross-platform
Type	Command
License	FreeDOS, ReactOS: GPLv2

In computing, move is a command in various command-line interpreters (shells) such as COMMAND.COM, cmd.exe,^[1] 4DOS/4NT, and PowerShell. It is used to move one or more files or directories from one place to another.^[2] The original file is deleted, and the new file may have the same or a different name. The command is analogous to the Unix mv command and to the OpenVOS move_file and move_dircommands.^[3]

The command is available in DOS,^[4] IBM OS/2,^[5] Microsoft Windows and ReactOS.^[6] On MS-DOS, the command is available in versions 6 and later.^[7] In Windows PowerShell, move is a predefined command alias for the Move-Item Cmdlet which basically serves the same purpose. The FreeDOS version was developed by Joe Cosentino.^[8] DR DOS 6.0 includes an implementation of the move command.^[9] The open-source MS-DOS emulator DOSBox has no MOVE command. Instead, the REN command can be used to move files.^[10]

To move one or more files:

MOVE [/Y | /-Y] [drive:][path]filename1[,...] destination

To rename a directory:

MOVE [/Y | /-Y] [drive:][path]dirname1 [destination\]dirname2

To move a directory:

MOVE [/Y | /-Y] [drive:][path]dirname1 destination

• [drive:][path]filename1: Specifies the location and name of the file or files you want to move.
• destination: Specifies the new location of the file or directory. Destination can consist of a drive letter and colon, a directory name, or a combination, and must already exist. If you are moving only one file, you can also include a filename if you want to rename the file when you move it.
• [drive:][path]dirname1: Specifies the directory you want to rename or move.
• dirname2: Specifies the new name of the directory.
• /Y: Suppresses prompting to confirm you want to overwrite an existing destination file.
• /-Y: Causes prompting to confirm you want to overwrite an existing destination file.

The switch /Y may be present in the COPYCMD environment variable. This may be overridden with /-Y on the command line. Default is to prompt on overwrites unless MOVE command is being executed from within a batch script.

• When moving a directory, dirname1 and its contents wind up as a subfolder beneath destination. Caution is advised - if the final subfolder of the destination path does not exist, dirname1 will be both moved and renamed.

• List of DOS commands
• List of Unix commands

• Wolverton, Van (1990). MS-DOS Commands: Microsoft Quick Reference, 4th Revised edition. Microsoft Press. ISBN 978-1556152894.
• Kathy Ivens; Brian Proffit (1993). OS/2 Inside & Out. Osborne McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0078818714.
• Frisch, Æleen (2001). Windows 2000 Commands Pocket Reference. O'Reilly. ISBN 978-0-596-00148-3.

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Guide to Windows Commands

• move | Microsoft Docs