bash : * except something

technomeister · 09-05-2010, 03:22 PM

Common scenario : I enter a directory, create a new one inside it and then want to move everything that was already in the current directory, down a level into the new one.

So, what's the syntax for "mv * (except newdir/) newdir/"?

acid_kewpie · 09-05-2010, 03:33 PM

mv * newdir

it'll omit itself automatically

technomeister · 09-05-2010, 04:45 PM

Ah, okay, nice.

slakmagik · 09-05-2010, 07:04 PM

If you want to avoid the error or are trying to do other things, a handy thing in bash(1), is extglob, particularly the '!(foo)' syntax. (Other shells may have similar functionality or you can resort to clunky stuff like 'mv `ls | grep -v foo` foo'.)