mv -v: the tiny flag that saves your bacon
I was moving 500 photos off my drone last week. The move finished… without a peep. No clue if it worked. Now I’m double-checking folder sizes like an anxious parent.
Here’s the easy fix: slap -v on the end of mv.
mv -v *.jpg ~/Pictures/
# 'IMG_0001.jpg' -> '/home/me/Pictures/IMG_0001.jpg'
# 'IMG_0002.jpg' -> '/home/me/Pictures/IMG_0002.jpg'
Boom. Real-time receipts.
What -v actually shows
Every file that gets touched pops on-screen like a heads-up display. Imagine:
- You rename
draft.docxtov2-finale.docx - Console prints
'draft.docx' -> 'v2-finale.docx' - Brain relaxes because it knew it happened
3 moments you’ll thank yourself for using it
1. Batch cleanup
Moving all .txt logs into an archive folder. One paste, one glance, done.
mv -v *.txt logs/
2. Risky renames inside scripts
Night before a demo I script-renamed config files. With -v, every rename scrolled past, so I spotted a typo before it broke production.
3. Teaching a friend the terminal
They see the arrow (->) and instantly get what mv does. No cryptic silence; they watch the dots move.
Quick combo I lean on
mv -vi backup.tar backups/
The -i asks “overwrite?” and -v logs whatever you pick. Confirmation + transparency in one breath.
Check if your system has it
man mv | grep "\-v"
If you see a line about “verbose,” you’re golden. Works on Linux, macOS, and every BSD box I’ve touched.
Bottom line: Next time you rename, move, or shuffle files from the command line, tack on -v. Ten extra characters beats an hour of wondering what just happened.
