move or copy a file if that file exists?

Question

I am trying to run a command

mv /var/www/my_folder/reports.html /tmp/

it is running properly. But I want to put a condition like if that file exists then only run the command. Is there anything like that?

I can put a shell file instead. for shell a tried below thing

if [ -e /var/www/my_folder/reports.html ]
  then
  mv /var/www/my_folder/reports.html /tmp/
fi

But I need a command. Can some one help me with this?

Why exactly do you need a command? – Samuel Kirschner Nov 07 '17 at 09:40 — Samuel Kirschner, Nov 07 '17 at 09:40

score 23 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 07 '17 at 09:40

23

Moving the file /var/www/my_folder/reports.html only if it exists and regular file:

[ -f "/var/www/my_folder/reports.html" ] && mv "/var/www/my_folder/reports.html" /tmp/

-f - returns true value if file exists and regular file

answered Nov 07 '17 at 09:40

RomanPerekhrest

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What if the file doesn't? Does it throw an error and change the status code from 0 to 1 or returns false (which isn't mean the command was broken with an error)? – uzay95 May 13 '20 at 15:20
1

@uzay95 No, it just returns false. – mbomb007 May 12 '22 at 13:21

Daein Park · Answer 2 · 2017-11-07T09:57:50.403

7

if exist file and then move or echo messages through standard error output

test -e /var/www/my_folder/reports.html && mv /var/www/my_folder/reports.html /tmp/ || echo "not existing the file" >&2

edited Nov 07 '17 at 09:57

answered Nov 07 '17 at 09:40

Daein Park

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It is also throwing same thing. – Maharjun M Nov 07 '17 at 10:17
1

I was some late to answer your question than @RomanPerekhrest. you can see my answered time :| – Daein Park Nov 07 '17 at 10:21

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 21 '21 at 20:16

1

Maybe your use case is "Create if not exist, then copy always". then: touch myfile && cp myfile mydest/

answered Nov 21 '21 at 20:16

Abdennour TOUMI

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`touch myfile` will create a file if it does not exist! – Matt Sephton Jun 28 '22 at 09:11

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 07 '17 at 09:51

You can do it simply in a shell script

#!/bin/bash

# Check for the file
ls /var/www/my_folder/ | grep reports.html > /dev/null

# check output of the previous command
if [ $? -eq 0 ]
then
    # echo -e "Found file"
    mv /var/www/my_folder/reports.html /tmp/
else
    # echo -e "File is not in there"
fi

Hope it helps

move or copy a file if that file exists?

4 Answers4