What command is used to change a file name in linux
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To rename a file in the terminal, move the file with mv from itself to itself with a new name. Here's an example. To rename a file on a computer with a graphical interface, you open a window, find the file you want
to rename, click on its name (or right-click and select the option to rename), and then enter a new name. To rename a file in the terminal, you actually move the file with mv, but you move the file from itself to itself with a new name. This example renames example.txt to file.txt: Because
they both use the same command, you can combine rename with a move. For instance, when moving example.txt to Documents, you could also rename it: Seth Kenlon is a UNIX geek, free culture advocate, independent multimedia artist, and D&D nerd. He has worked in the film and computing industry, often at the same time. Related ContentThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License. This document lists commands for creating, copying, renaming and removing Unix files and directories. It assumes you are using Unix on the ITS Login Service (login.itd.umich.edu). The instructions here apply to many other Unix machines; however, you may notice different behavior if you are not using the ITS Login Service. What Are Unix Files and Directories?A file is a "container" for data. Unix makes no distinction among file types—a file may contain the text of a document, data for a program or the program itself. Directories provide a way to organize files, allowing you to group related files together. Directories may contain files and/or other directories. Directories are analogous to Macintosh and Windows folders. Naming Unix Files and DirectoriesEach file and directory has a name. Within a directory, each item (that is, each file or directory) must have a unique name, but items with the same name may exist in more than one directory. A directory may have the same name as one of the items it contains. File and directory names may be up to 256 characters long. Names may use almost any character (except a space). You can divide a multi-word file name using either an underscore or a period (for example, chapter_one or chapter.two). Some characters have special meanings to Unix. It is best to avoid using these characters in file names: / \ " ' * | ! ? ~ $ < > Unix is case-sensitive. Each of these is a unique file: myfile, Myfile, myFile, and MYFILE. Creating a FileMany people create files using a text editor, but you can use the command cat to create files without using/learning to use a text editor. To create a practice file (called firstfile) and enter one line of text in it, type the following at the % prompt: cat > firstfile Terminate file entry by typing Control-d on a line by itself. (Hold down the Control key and type d.) On your screen, you will see: % cat > firstfile To examine the contents of a file you have just created, enter this at the % prompt: cat firstfile Copying a FileTo make a duplicate copy of a file, use the command cp. For example, to create an exact copy of the file called firstfile, you would type: cp firstfile secondfile This results in two files with different names, each containing the same information. The cp command works by overwriting information. If you create a different file called thirdfile and then type the following command: cp thirdfile firstfile you will find that the original contents of firstfile are gone, replaced by the contents of thirdfile. Renaming a FileUnix does not have a command specifically for renaming files. Instead, the mv command is used both to change the name of a file and to move a file into a different directory. To change the name of a file, use the following command format (where thirdfile and file3 are sample file names): mv thirdfile file3 This command results in the complete removal of thirdfile, but a new file called file3 contains the previous contents of thirdfile. Like cp, the mv command also overwrites existing files. For example, if you have two files, fourthfile and secondfile, and you type the command mv fourthfile secondfile mv will remove the original contents of secondfile and replace them with the contents of fourthfile. As a result, fourthfile is renamed secondfile, but in the process secondfile is deleted. Removing a FileUse the rm command to remove a file. For example, rm file3 deletes file3 and its contents. You may remove more than one file at a time by specifying a list of files to be deleted. For example, rm firstfile secondfile You will be prompted to confirm whether you really want to remove the files: rm: remove firstfile (y/n)? y Type y or yes to remove a file; type n or no to leave it intact. Creating a DirectoryCreating directories permits you to organize your files. The command mkdir project1 creates a directory called project1, where you can store files related to a particular project. The directory that you create will be a subdirectory within your current directory. For details on how to navigate directories and display the files and directories they contain, see List Contents and Navigate Unix Directories. Moving and Copying Files Into a DirectoryThe mv and cp commands can be used to put files into a directory. Assume that you want to place some files from your current directory into a newly created directory called project1. The command mv bibliography project1 will move the file bibliography into the directory project1. The command cp chapter1 project1 will place a copy of the file chapter1 in the directory project1, but leave chapter1 intact in the current directory. There will now be two copies of chapter1, one in the current directory and one in project1. Renaming a DirectoryYou can also use the mv command to rename and move directories. When you type the command mv project1 project2 the directory called project1 will be given the new name project2 as long as a directory called project2 did not previously exist. If directory project2 already existed before the mv command was issued, mv project1 project2 would move the directory project1 and its files into the directory project2. Copying a DirectoryYou can use the cp command to create a duplicate copy of a directory and its contents. To copy directory project1 to directory proj1copy, for example, you would type cp -r project1 proj1copy If directory proj1copy already exists, this command will put a duplicate copy of directory project1 into directory proj1copy\. Removing a DirectoryUse the command rmdir to remove an empty directory. Multiple empty directories may be removed by listing them after the command: rmdir testdir1 testdir2 If you try to remove a directory that is not empty, you will see rmdir: testdir3: Directory not empty If you are sure that you want to remove the directory and all the files it contains, use the command rm -r testdir3 Summary of CommandsWorking With Files
Working With Directories
Working With Files and Directories
What is the command to rename a file in Linux?You can use the built-in Linux command mv to rename files. Here are some of the options that can come in handy with the mv command: -v , --verbose : Explains what is being done. -i , --interactive : Prompts before renaming the file.
Which command can be used to rename a file?The mv command is also used to rename items. You simply include the new file name in the location parameter. For example, let's rename the Test.
How do you change a file name?Right-click the file and select Rename. Enter a new file name and press Enter.
How do you change a filename in Unix?Renaming a File
Unix does not have a command specifically for renaming files. Instead, the mv command is used both to change the name of a file and to move a file into a different directory.
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