# All I want to do is move a directory :( **URL:** \ **Category:** ruby-talk\ **Created:** [22 December 2004 18:35 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439 "2004-12-22T18:35:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![T\_Onoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c2a13f/32.png) [@T\_Onoma](https://rubytalk.org/u/T_Onoma)\ **Post date:** [22 December 2004 18:35 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/1 "2004-12-22T18:35:50Z")
Very frustrated. I have just spent well over an hour trying to do the simplest of all things: move a directory. Of course, I want to do it in Ruby but this doesn't work:   [FileUtils.mv](http://FileUtils.mv)( @dir, ".trash/" ) Could someone please show me why am I apparently so stupid. Thanks, T. ---
**Author:** ![T\_Onoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c2a13f/32.png) [@T\_Onoma](https://rubytalk.org/u/T_Onoma)\ **Post date:** [22 December 2004 19:38 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/2 "2004-12-22T19:38:07Z")
Thanks. That almost works. But the oddest thing happens. If @dir already exists, it moves it to @dir/@dir. If @dir/@dir already exists it bombs. I can't figure out why and am starting to think its a bug with #mv. T. > **···** > > On Wednesday 22 December 2004 02:14 pm, you wrote: > > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > > Hash: SHA1 > > > > trans. (T. Onoma) wrote: > > \> FileUtils.mv( @dir, ".trash/" ) > > \> > > \> Could someone please show me why am I apparently so stupid. > > > > I don't think it's smart enough to make subdir for you. Try: > >   FileUtils.mv(@dir, File.join('.trash', File.basename(@dir))) ---
**Author:** ![Gennady1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a4c791/32.png) [@Gennady1](https://rubytalk.org/u/Gennady1)\ **Post date:** [22 December 2004 21:25 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/3 "2004-12-22T21:25:49Z")
trans. (T. Onoma) wrote: > Very frustrated. I have just spent well over an hour trying to do the simplest of all things: move a directory. Of course, I want to do it in Ruby but this doesn't work: > >   FileUtils.mv( @dir, ".trash/" ) > > Could someone please show me why am I apparently so stupid. > > Thanks, > T. What excactly are you experiencing? On what platform? On my Linux box with Ruby 1.6.8 when I do $ mkdir aaa $ mkdir .trash $ irb -r fileutils irb(main):001:0\> FileUtils.mv "aaa", ".trash/" it works just fine. The only thing is that if ".trash/aaa" already exists, I get an exception: Errno::EISDIR: Is a directory - ".trash/aaa"          from /usr/local/lib/ruby/site\_ruby/1.6/fileutils.rb:396:in `open'          from /usr/local/lib/ruby/site\_ruby/1.6/fileutils.rb:396:in `copy\_file'          from /usr/local/lib/ruby/site\_ruby/1.6/fileutils.rb:395:in `open'          from /usr/local/lib/ruby/site\_ruby/1.6/fileutils.rb:395:in `copy\_file'          from /usr/local/lib/ruby/site\_ruby/1.6/fileutils.rb:445:in `mv'          from /usr/local/lib/ruby/site\_ruby/1.6/fileutils.rb:432:in `fu\_each\_src\_dest'          from /usr/local/lib/ruby/site\_ruby/1.6/fileutils.rb:432:in `mv'          from (irb):1 Gennady. ---
**Author:** ![T\_Onoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c2a13f/32.png) [@T\_Onoma](https://rubytalk.org/u/T_Onoma)\ **Post date:** [22 December 2004 23:22 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/4 "2004-12-22T23:22:54Z")
Yes. That is one of the problems. T. > **···** > > On Wednesday 22 December 2004 04:25 pm, Gennady Bystritksy wrote: > > > trans. (T. Onoma) wrote: > > \> Very frustrated. I have just spent well over an hour trying to do the > > \> simplest of all things: move a directory. Of course, I want to do it in > > \> Ruby but this doesn't work: > > \> > > \> FileUtils.mv( @dir, ".trash/" ) > > \> > > \> Could someone please show me why am I apparently so stupid. > > \> > > \> Thanks, > > \> T. > > > > What excactly are you experiencing? On what platform? On my Linux box > > with Ruby 1.6.8 when I do > > > > $ mkdir aaa > > $ mkdir .trash > > > > $ irb -r fileutils > > irb(main):001:0\> FileUtils.mv "aaa", ".trash/" ---
**Author:** ![T\_Onoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c2a13f/32.png) [@T\_Onoma](https://rubytalk.org/u/T_Onoma)\ **Post date:** [23 December 2004 00:05 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/5 "2004-12-23T00:05:37Z")
I think the problem may be that the :force option isn't working correctly on FilUtils#mv. Isn't that supposed to force the move even if the file/directory is already there? T. ---
**Author:** ![T\_Onoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c2a13f/32.png) [@T\_Onoma](https://rubytalk.org/u/T_Onoma)\ **Post date:** [23 December 2004 00:30 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/6 "2004-12-23T00:30:41Z")
FYI: ruby 1.8.2p2 on Debian Testing > **···** > > On Wednesday 22 December 2004 07:05 pm, trans. (T. Onoma) wrote: > > > I think the problem may be that the :force option isn't working correctly > > on FilUtils#mv. Isn't that supposed to force the move even if the > > file/directory is already there? ---
**Author:** ![Minero\_Aoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@Minero\_Aoki](https://rubytalk.org/u/Minero_Aoki)\ **Post date:** [23 December 2004 01:04 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/7 "2004-12-23T01:04:49Z")
Hi,   In mail "Re: All I want to do is move a directory :(" > I think the problem may be that the :force option isn't working correctly on > FilUtils#mv. Isn't that supposed to force the move even if the file/directory > is already there? It depends on what is the \*correct\* behavior. At least GNU mv does not overwrite directory:   % find   .   ./trash   ./trash/a   ./trash/a/test   ./a   ./a/test   ./a/test2   % mv a trash   mv: cannot overwrite directory `trash/a'   % mv -f a trash   mv: cannot overwrite directory `trash/a'   % find   .   ./trash   ./trash/a   ./trash/a/test   ./a   ./a/test   ./a/test2   % In my opinion, :force option ensures only that #mv does not raise exception, it does not imply continuing process. Regards, Minero Aoki > **···** > > "trans. (T. Onoma)" \ wrote: ---
**Author:** ![T\_Onoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c2a13f/32.png) [@T\_Onoma](https://rubytalk.org/u/T_Onoma)\ **Post date:** [23 December 2004 04:12 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/8 "2004-12-23T04:12:17Z")
Hmm. I thought for sure -f overwrote, but indeed you are right. So that means one must perform a 'rm -r' first? If so that's really bad, as it is a much more dangerous way to have to go about it. If the wrong directory name got in there it could spell the end of one's machine ☹ Is there no way to simply (and truly) \_force\_ a move? Thanks, T. > **···** > > On Wednesday 22 December 2004 08:04 pm, Minero Aoki wrote: > > > It depends on what is the \*correct\* behavior. > > At least GNU mv does not overwrite directory: > > > >   % find > >   . > >   ./trash > >   ./trash/a > >   ./trash/a/test > >   ./a > >   ./a/test > >   ./a/test2 > >   % mv a trash > >   mv: cannot overwrite directory `trash/a' > >   % mv -f a trash > >   mv: cannot overwrite directory `trash/a' > >   % find > >   . > >   ./trash > >   ./trash/a > >   ./trash/a/test > >   ./a > >   ./a/test > >   ./a/test2 > >   % > > > > In my opinion, :force option ensures only that #mv does not > > raise exception, it does not imply continuing process. ---
**Author:** ![T\_Onoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c2a13f/32.png) [@T\_Onoma](https://rubytalk.org/u/T_Onoma)\ **Post date:** [23 December 2004 14:54 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/9 "2004-12-23T14:54:03Z")
Well, that doesn;t sound like "forcing" to me, but ... Sigh, now I'm getting opposite behavior. I tried to create irb session to demonstrate the bug I was getting (@dir/@dir) but instead now it seems to be overwriting: irb(main):001:0\> require 'fileutils' =\> true irb(main):002:0\> puts Dir['\*\*/\*'] a test a/test.txt test/a =\> nil irb(main):003:0\> FileUtils.mv( "a", "test" ) =\> 0 irb(main):004:0\> puts Dir['\*\*/\*'] test test/a test/a/test.txt I traced it to the fact the "a" is empty. If one tries this when "a" is not empty it then fails. This doesn't seem to be "UNIX correct" either. T. > **···** > > On Wednesday 22 December 2004 08:04 pm, Minero Aoki wrote: > > > In my opinion, :force option ensures only that #mv does not > > raise exception, it does not imply continuing process. ---
**Author:** ![BIl\_Kleb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a587f6/32.png) [@BIl\_Kleb1](https://rubytalk.org/u/BIl_Kleb1)\ **Post date:** [25 December 2004 20:56 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/10 "2004-12-25T20:56:59Z")
Minero Aoki wrote: > In my opinion, :force option ensures only that #mv does not > raise exception, it does not imply continuing process. That sounds counter to the -f option for Un\*x's 'mv' command.         -f, --force do not prompt before overwriting Why change the convention to which so many are accustomed? Regards, > **···** > > -- > Bil Kleb, Hampton, Virginia > [http://fun3d.larc.nasa.gov](http://fun3d.larc.nasa.gov) ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Hubbart1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Mark\_Hubbart1](https://rubytalk.org/u/Mark_Hubbart1)\ **Post date:** [23 December 2004 07:54 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/11 "2004-12-23T07:54:19Z")
It's time to roll your own. If you don't have to worry about moving across filesystems, a simple File.rename will work: irb(main):001:0\> Dir.mkdir ".trash" =\> 0 irb(main):002:0\> Dir.mkdir "aaa" =\> 0 irb(main):003:0\> Dir.mkdir ".trash/aaa" =\> 0 irb(main):004:0\> Dir.mkdir "aaa/foo" =\> 0 irb(main):005:0\> File.rename "./aaa", "./.trash/aaa" =\> 0 irb(main):012:0\> puts Dir['.trash/\*\*/\*'] .trash/aaa .trash/aaa/foo If you attempt a move across filesystems, rename should raise an error. You could catch that error and change strategies to a copy/delete sequence. That would be messier, but... cheers, Mark > **···** > > On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:12:17 +0900, trans. (T. Onoma) \ wrote: > > > Hmm. I thought for sure -f overwrote, but indeed you are right. So that means > > one must perform a 'rm -r' first? If so that's really bad, as it is a much > > more dangerous way to have to go about it. If the wrong directory name got in > > there it could spell the end of one's machine ☹ Is there no way to simply > > (and truly) \_force\_ a move? ---
**Author:** ![Ilmari\_Heikkinen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ilmari\_Heikkinen1](https://rubytalk.org/u/Ilmari_Heikkinen1)\ **Post date:** [23 December 2004 12:50 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/12 "2004-12-23T12:50:32Z")
How would a forced move differ from rm -rf followed by move? -Ilmari > **···** > > On 23.12.2004, at 06:12, trans. (T. Onoma) wrote: > > > If so that's really bad, as it is a much > > more dangerous way to have to go about it. If the wrong directory name got in > > there it could spell the end of one's machine ☹ Is there no way to simply > > (and truly) \_force\_ a move? ---
**Author:** ![Gennady1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a4c791/32.png) [@Gennady1](https://rubytalk.org/u/Gennady1)\ **Post date:** [25 December 2004 21:10 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/13 "2004-12-25T21:10:57Z")
'mv' command does not override existing directories if they are not empty even with -f option. I cannot try it right now on Linux, but in Darwin it even prints out the error message, despite -f option. Gennady. > **···** > > On Dec 25, 2004, at 12:56 PM, Bil Kleb wrote: > > > Minero Aoki wrote: > > > > > In my opinion, :force option ensures only that #mv does not > > > raise exception, it does not imply continuing process. > > > > That sounds counter to the -f option for Un\*x's 'mv' command. > > > >        -f, --force do not prompt before overwriting > > > > Why change the convention to which so many are accustomed? > > > > Regards, > > -- > > Bil Kleb, Hampton, Virginia > > [http://fun3d.larc.nasa.gov](http://fun3d.larc.nasa.gov) > > Sincerely, > Gennady Bystritsky ---
**Author:** ![Lionel\_Thiry2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lionel\_Thiry2](https://rubytalk.org/u/Lionel_Thiry2)\ **Post date:** [25 December 2004 22:02 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/14 "2004-12-25T22:02:10Z")
> irb(main):001:0\> require 'fileutils' > =\> true > irb(main):002:0\> puts Dir['\*\*/\*'] > a > test > a/test.txt > test/a > =\> nil > irb(main):003:0\> FileUtils.mv( "a", "test" ) > =\> 0 Maybe FileUtils.mv( "a", "test" ) and FileUtils( "a", "test/" ) doesn't do the same thing? Lionel Thiry ---
**Author:** ![Minero\_Aoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@Minero\_Aoki](https://rubytalk.org/u/Minero_Aoki)\ **Post date:** [27 December 2004 07:16 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/15 "2004-12-27T07:16:14Z")
Hi,   In mail "Re: All I want to do is move a directory :(" > **···** > > "trans. (T. Onoma)" \ wrote: > > > Sigh, now I'm getting opposite behavior. I tried to create irb session to > > demonstrate the bug I was getting (@dir/@dir) but instead now it seems to be > > overwriting: > > > > irb(main):001:0\> require 'fileutils' > > =\> true > > irb(main):002:0\> puts Dir['\*\*/\*'] > > a > > test > > a/test.txt > > test/a > > =\> nil > > irb(main):003:0\> FileUtils.mv( "a", "test" ) > > =\> 0 > > irb(main):004:0\> puts Dir['\*\*/\*'] > > test > > test/a > > test/a/test.txt > > > > I traced it to the fact the "a" is empty. If one tries this when "a" is not > > empty it then fails. This doesn't seem to be "UNIX correct" either. > > This is a bug... fixed now. > Thank you! > > Regards, > Minero Aoki ---
**Author:** ![T\_Onoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c2a13f/32.png) [@T\_Onoma](https://rubytalk.org/u/T_Onoma)\ **Post date:** [23 December 2004 14:41 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/all-i-want-to-do-is-move-a-directory/15439/16 "2004-12-23T14:41:14Z")
Hi -- When you move something (file or directory) to a directory it goes \_into\_ that directory rather then on top of it. T. > **···** > > On Thursday 23 December 2004 07:50 am, Ilmari Heikkinen wrote: > > > On 23.12.2004, at 06:12, trans. (T. Onoma) wrote: > > \> If so that's really bad, as it is a much > > \> more dangerous way to have to go about it. If the wrong directory name > > \> got in > > \> there it could spell the end of one's machine ☹ Is there no way to > > \> simply > > \> (and truly) \_force\_ a move? > > > > How would a forced move differ from rm -rf followed by move?