Manage files in Terminal on Mac (2024)

• In the Terminal app on your Mac, use the mv command to move files or folders from one location to another on the same computer. The mv command moves the file or folder from its old location and puts it in the new location.

  For example, to move a file from your Downloads folder to a Work folder in your Documents folder:

  % mv ~/Downloads/MyFile.txt ~/Documents/Work/MyFile.txt

  You can also change the name of the file as it’s moved:

  % mv ~/Downloads/MyFile.txt ~/Documents/Work/NewFileName.txt

See the mv command man page.

• In the Terminal app on your Mac, use the cp command to make a copy of a file.

  For example, to copy a folder named Expenses in your Documents folder to another volume named Data:

  % cp -R ~/Documents/Expenses /Volumes/Data/Expenses

  The -R flag causes cp to copy the folder and its contents. Note that the folder name does not end with a slash, which would change how cp copies the folder.

See the cp command man page.

• In the Terminal app on your Mac, use the scp command to copy a file or folder to or from a remote computer.

  scp uses the same underlying protocols as ssh.

  For example, to copy a compressed file from your home folder to another user’s home folder on a remote server:

  % scp -E ~/ImportantPapers.tgz username@remoteserver.com:/Users/username/Desktop/ImportantPapers.tgz

  You’re prompted for the user’s password.

  The -E flag preserves extended attributes, resource forks, and ACL information.

  The -r flag, which isn’t used in this example, causes scp to copy a folder and its contents.

See the scp command man page.