How to Copy, Move, and Delete Files on Linux

The Three Core File Commands

On Linux, three commands handle almost all file management from the terminal: cp (copy), mv (move/rename), and rm (remove). Once you know them well, you will find the terminal faster than any file manager for bulk operations.

cp — Copy Files and Directories

Basic syntax: cp source destination

cp report.txt backup/report.txt     # copy a file
cp -r projects/ backup/projects/    # copy a directory (-r = recursive)
cp -u *.txt /backup/                # copy only files newer than the destination

• -r — recursive (required for directories)
• -v — verbose, print each file as it's copied
• -p — preserve timestamps and permissions
• -i — interactive, ask before overwriting

mv — Move or Rename

mv moves a file to a new location, or renames it if the destination is in the same directory:

mv old-name.txt new-name.txt        # rename
mv report.txt ~/Documents/          # move to another directory
mv *.log /var/log/archive/          # move multiple files with a glob

Warning: mv overwrites the destination silently. Use -i to get a prompt before overwriting.

rm — Remove Files

rm file.txt                         # delete a file
rm -r old-project/                  # delete a directory and all its contents
rm -rf temp/                        # force delete without prompts (use carefully)
rm -i *.log                         # ask before deleting each file

Important: Linux has no Recycle Bin from the terminal. Deleted files are gone immediately. When in doubt, use rm -i or move files to a temporary folder first.

Working with Directories: mkdir and rmdir

mkdir new-folder                    # create a directory
mkdir -p projects/web/assets        # create nested directories at once
rmdir empty-folder                  # remove an empty directory
rm -r non-empty-folder              # remove a directory with contents

Practical Examples

# Back up config files before editing
cp /etc/nginx/nginx.conf /etc/nginx/nginx.conf.bak

# Reorganise downloads
mkdir -p ~/sorted/{images,videos,docs}
mv ~/Downloads/*.jpg ~/sorted/images/
mv ~/Downloads/*.mp4 ~/sorted/videos/
mv ~/Downloads/*.pdf ~/sorted/docs/

Quick Reference

• cp -r src/ dst/ — copy directory recursively
• mv file.txt newname.txt — rename a file
• rm -rf dir/ — delete directory (no undo!)
• mkdir -p a/b/c — create nested directories