MV and RM Options

Question 1

What does mv -i do?

Answer 1

• Prompts for confirmation before overwriting existing files
• Prevents accidental data loss when moving files to locations with existing files
• Interactive mode that asks “overwrite filename? (y/n)” before proceeding

Question 2

How does mv -u work?

Answer 2

• Updates - only moves files if source is newer than destination or destination doesn’t exist
• Prevents overwriting newer files with older versions
• Useful for backup operations and synchronization tasks

Question 3

What is mv -v used for?

Answer 3

• Verbose mode - shows what files are being moved/renamed
• Provides feedback on the operation’s progress
• Helpful for confirming actions and debugging move operations

Question 4

When would you use mv -n?

Answer 4

• No-clobber mode - never overwrites existing files
• Safer than default behavior when you want to preserve existing files
• Opposite of -f (force) option

Question 5

What does mv -f accomplish?

Answer 5

• Forces the move operation without prompting for confirmation
• Overrides any interactive prompts or write protection
• Use with caution as it can overwrite files without warning

Question 6

What does rm -i do?

Answer 6

• Prompts for confirmation before removing each file
• Interactive mode that asks “remove filename? (y/n)”
• Essential safety feature to prevent accidental file deletion

Question 7

What is the purpose of rm -r or rm -R?

Answer 7

• Recursively removes directories and their contents
• Required to delete non-empty directories
• Extremely dangerous - can delete entire directory trees

Question 8

How does rm -f differ from regular rm?

Answer 8

• Forces removal without prompting, even for write-protected files
• Ignores non-existent files (no error messages)
• Bypasses confirmation prompts and permission restrictions

Question 9

What does rm -v provide?

Answer 9

• Verbose mode - shows each file as it’s being removed
• Provides feedback on deletion progress
• Useful for confirming what files are actually being deleted

Question 10

Why is rm -rf considered dangerous?

Answer 10

• Combines recursive deletion with force option
• Deletes entire directory trees without any confirmation prompts
• Can cause catastrophic data loss if used incorrectly (especially as root)