Difference between cp and mv commands in UNIX

CEans,

I've a simple query related to UNIX. What is the difference between cp and mv commands in UNIX?

Are these commands similar to copy and 'cut' command operations that we do in Windows? Are there any other differences?

Answer:

The main difference between the cp and mv command is that the cp command copies the files from one folder to other while the mv command moves the file from one folder to other. When mv is used, the file is removed from source while cp retains the file at the source and creates a copy of it on the new location.

Let’s understand this in depth-

Understanding the Difference between cp and mv commands in UNIX

UNIX, and by extension its descendants such as Linux and MacOS, provide users with robust, powerful, and flexible tools for managing files and directories through command-line interfaces like the Bash shell. Two of these basic but incredibly versatile commands are cp and mv.

What is cp command?

cp, short for copy, is a UNIX command used to copy files or directories from one location to another. It's as simple as it sounds, but it provides more functionality than just duplicating a file or directory.

The general syntax of the cp command is as follows:

cp [options] source destination

Here, source is the file or directory that you want to copy, and destination is the location where you want the copy to be placed.

For example, if you want to copy a file named file1.txt from the current directory to another directory named /home/user/documents, you would type:

cp file1.txt /home/user/documents

Options with cp

There are various options that you can use with the cp command to customize its behavior, some of which include:

- -i or --interactive: With this option, the cp command will ask for your confirmation before it overwrites a file.

- -r or -R or --recursive: This option allows you to copy directories recursively, i.e., it copies the directory and its entire contents (including any subdirectories and their contents).

- -v or --verbose: This option will make cp describe what is being done, which can be useful for debugging or for scripts where you want more information outputted.

What is mv command?

mv, short for move, is another UNIX command that's primarily used to move files and directories from one location to another. While the primary function is to move, it also can be used to rename files or directories.

The general syntax of the mv command is:

mv [options] source destination

The source is the file or directory you want to move, and the destination is the location where you want the file or directory moved.

For instance, to move the file file1.txt from the current directory to the directory /home/user/documents, you would type:

mv file1.txt /home/user/documents

This command also works for renaming files. To rename file1.txt to file2.txt, you would type:

mv file1.txt file2.txt

Options with mv

As with cp, there are various options that can be used with the mv command, including:

- -i or --interactive: Like cp, the mv command will ask for your confirmation before overwriting any files when used with this option.

- -u or --update: This moves files only when the source file is newer than the destination file or when the destination file is missing.

- -v or --verbose: As with cp, this makes mv describe what is being done, which is useful for debugging or understanding what's happening.

Differences between cp and mv

In summary, following are the main differences between cp and mv commands in UNIX-

1. Primary Operation: cp makes a duplicate of the file or directory at a new location while keeping the original intact. In contrast, mv moves the file or directory to a new location or changes its name, but does not create a copy.

2. Impact on Inodes: An inode in UNIX-based systems represents metadata about a file or directory. When you use cp, it creates a new inode for the copied file or directory. mv, on the other hand, keeps the same inode as it only modifies the location or name without creating a new file.

3. Speed: cp can be slower than mv when dealing with large files or directories, as cp has to read