How To Move Hidden Files with Bash’s Wildcard

In the world of Linux and Unix, managing files and directories is a regular task. This often involves moving files from one location to another. However, moving hidden files can be a bit tricky, especially when using Bash’s wildcard (*). In this article, we’ll walk you through the process of moving hidden files using Bash’s wildcard.

Understanding Hidden Files

In Unix-based systems, a file is considered hidden if its name begins with a dot (.). These files are usually configuration files that are hidden to prevent accidental modification or deletion. When you use the ls command or the wildcard (*), these hidden files are not included in the output.

Using Bash’s Wildcard

Bash’s wildcard (*) is a powerful tool that allows you to perform operations on multiple files at once. However, by default, it does not include hidden files. This is where the dotglob shell option comes into play.

Enabling dotglob

The dotglob option in Bash includes hidden files in globbing (the process of expanding the wildcard character). To enable dotglob, you can use the shopt -s dotglob command:

shopt -s dotglob
mv /tmp/home/rcook/* /home/rcook/

In the above command, shopt -s dotglob enables the dotglob option. The mv command moves all files (including hidden ones) from /tmp/home/rcook/ to /home/rcook/.

You can make dotglob the default behavior by adding shopt -s dotglob to your ~/.bashrc file.

Using a Specific Glob Pattern

If you don’t want to enable dotglob, you can use a more specific glob pattern to exclude . and ..:

mv /tmp/home/rcook/.[!.]* /home/rcook/

This pattern .[!.]* matches all files starting with a dot (.), excluding . and ... If there are files whose name begins with two dots (..something), also use the pattern ..?*.

Using Brace Expansion

Brace expansion is another method to move both hidden and non-hidden files:

mv a/{.*,*} b/

This command expands to mv a/.* a/* b/, moving all files starting with a dot and anything else in the a/ directory to the b/ directory.

Using the Find Command

The find command is a powerful tool that can be used to move hidden files:

find /tmp/home/rcook/ -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -exec mv {} /home/rcook/ \;

This command finds all files in /tmp/home/rcook/ (excluding subdirectories) and executes mv to move them to /home/rcook/. The -mindepth 1 option ensures that find does not include the current directory in its output, and -maxdepth 1 prevents find from descending into subdirectories.

Conclusion

Moving hidden files using Bash’s wildcard can be tricky, but with the right commands and options, it becomes a straightforward task. Whether you choose to enable dotglob, use a specific glob pattern, use brace expansion, or use the find command, each method has its own advantages. Choose the one that best fits your needs. Remember to adjust the source and destination paths according to your specific scenario. Happy file moving!