What are cp and mv in Linux?

When working in Linux, it is common to navigate across multiple directories and perform various tasks using the terminal.

As a result, it can be beneficial to copy and move certain files and folders from one directory to another.

Note that moving a file/folder will delete it from its source while copying it will not.

Copying/Moving from non-current directory to the current directory

To copy/move a file or folder in another directory to your current working directory, you can use the following terminal commands:

Copy

cp path_source .

Move

mv path_source .

path_source is the path to the source directory, and . represents the current working directory.

Copying/Moving from the current directory to a non-current directory

To copy/move a file in the present working directory to another directory in your file system, you can use the following commands:

Copy

cp name destination_path

Move

mv name destination_path

Where name is the name of the file/folder to move/copy, and destination_path is the destination directory.

Copying/Moving from a non-current working directory to a non-current working directory

To copy/move a file in a non-current working directory to another non-current working directory in your file system, you can use the following commands:

Copy

cp source_path destination_path

Move

mv source_path destination_path

Where source_path is the file’s path to be moved from its current location to a different location, destination_path.