mv: invalid option -- '0'

Question

How can I rename files with "-" in front of the filename, for example: "-0001.jpg"

Everyime I try to run:

for i in *; do mv "$i" "${i//-/}"; done

or:

for i in *; do mv "$i" "${i#*-}"; done

I got this error:

mv: invalid option -- '0'
Try `mv --help' for more information.

Thanks for any light!

I answered but I suppose this question appears already, since it's so a common fact — ShinTakezou, Jul 02 '11 at 15:53
Thanks for the tip. And, for the reccords, I tried to find some answer before making the question. — Roger, Jul 02 '11 at 16:34

score 30 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 02 '11 at 16:00

30

mv ./-00008.jpg to/some/where.jpg
   ^ - start with path...

answered Jul 02 '11 at 16:00

clt60

3

While many programs support `--`, this solution will work for absolutely all programs. – hlovdal Jul 02 '11 at 16:12
yeap, I am a bit GNU biased since when I had to use non-GNU "common" tools (mv, find, one of non-GNU awk...) on e.g. Solaris, I realized that I missed a lot GNU "extension" and "enhancement". – ShinTakezou Jul 02 '11 at 16:16
(no `mv "-hey" dest` wont work, I think since the "" are used before to split arguments into argv array properly, but once placed there, there's no way to know if there where "" or not) – ShinTakezou Jul 02 '11 at 16:38

score 13 · Answer 2 · edited Nov 16 '22 at 06:33

13

As with most GNU commands, use the -- switch before the filename with the hyphen. It signifies "end of switches".

mv OPTIONS -- -file_with_hyphen.txt dest.txt

edited Nov 16 '22 at 06:33

meles

answered Jul 02 '11 at 15:52

jcomeau_ictx

score 10 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 02 '11 at 15:52

10

Put a double - before the arguments that can contain "-" in the begin; then there can't be options after --.

mv OPTIONS -- ...

answered Jul 02 '11 at 15:52

ShinTakezou

3 Answers3