cp, cp -r & mv

Copy, move & rename

Lesson 6 of 20 · 9 min · Module 2: Shape your files

Copies protect your work. Moving and renaming keep it tidy. In Linux, moving and renaming are the same operation.

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By the end, you’ll be able to…

Copy files and folders
Move and rename with mv
Predict what happens when the target is a folder

The idea

cp source target copies a file. Copy a whole folder with cp -r. mv source target moves a file, and if the target is a new name in the same folder, it simply renames it. If the target is an existing folder, the file goes inside it.

cp notes.txt notes-copy.txt
mv notes-copy.txt Documents/
cp -r projects/website site-copy

01cp keeps the original

After cp, both files exist and are independent. Changing the copy does not change the original.

02Folders need -r

cp refuses to copy a folder unless you add -r (recursive), which copies the folder and everything inside it.

cp projects/website site
cp -r projects/website site

Output

cp: -r not specified; omitting directory 'projects/website'

03mv moves or renames

mv old.txt new.txt renames the file. mv file.txt Documents/ moves it into the Documents folder and keeps its name. The original location is empty afterwards.

Your turn

1) Copy notes.txt to Documents/notes-backup.txt. 2) Rename data/report-2025.txt to data/archive-2025.txt. 3) Copy the whole projects/website folder to website-backup in your home folder.

What the checks look for

Backs up notes.txt into Documents
Renames the 2025 report
Copies the whole website folder

Try it in the editor →

Take this with you

cp duplicates, mv relocates, and a new name in the same folder is just a rename.

Go a little further

Copy two files into Documents with a single cp command by listing both before the folder.