GDAL-VSI-MOVE(1) GDAL GDAL-VSI-MOVE(1)
gdal-vsi-move - Move/rename a file/directory located on GDAL Virtual
System Interface (VSI)
Added in version 3.11.
Usage: gdal vsi move [OPTIONS] <SOURCE> <DESTINATION>
Move/rename a file/directory located on GDAL Virtual System Interface (VSI).
Positional arguments:
--source <SOURCE> Source file or directory name [required]
--destination <DESTINATION> Destination file or directory name [required]
Common Options:
-h, --help Display help message and exit
--json-usage Display usage as JSON document and exit
--config <KEY>=<VALUE> Configuration option [may be repeated]
-q, --quiet Quiet mode (no progress bar)
gdal vsi move move files and directories located on GDAL Virtual File
Systems (compressed, network hosted, etc...): /vsimem, /vsizip,
/vsitar, /vsicurl, ....
If the destination path is an existing directory, the file will be
moved to it.
It can move files and directories between different virtual file
systems, but this will involve copying and deletion.
Note that for cloud object storage, moving/renaming a directory may
involve renaming all files it contains recursively, and is thus not
an atomic operation (and could be slow and expensive on directories
with many files!)
This is implemented by VSIMove().
This is an analog of the UNIX mv command, and gdal vsi mv is an alias
for gdal vsi move.
Example 1: Rename a file within the same virtual file system
$ gdal vsi move /vsis3/bucket/my.tif /vsis3/bucket/new_name.tif
Example 2: Move a file into another directory within the same virtual
file system
$ gdal vsi move /vsis3/bucket/my.tif /vsis3/bucket/existing_subdir
Example 3: Move a directory between two different virtual file systems
$ gdal vsi move /vsis3/bucket/my_directory /vsigs/bucket/
Even Rouault <even.rouault@spatialys.com>
1998-2026
March 20, 2026 GDAL-VSI-MOVE(1)
NAME
gdal-vsi-move - Move/rename a file/directory located on GDAL Virtual
System Interface (VSI)
Added in version 3.11.
SYNOPSIS
Usage: gdal vsi move [OPTIONS] <SOURCE> <DESTINATION>
Move/rename a file/directory located on GDAL Virtual System Interface (VSI).
Positional arguments:
--source <SOURCE> Source file or directory name [required]
--destination <DESTINATION> Destination file or directory name [required]
Common Options:
-h, --help Display help message and exit
--json-usage Display usage as JSON document and exit
--config <KEY>=<VALUE> Configuration option [may be repeated]
-q, --quiet Quiet mode (no progress bar)
DESCRIPTION
gdal vsi move move files and directories located on GDAL Virtual File
Systems (compressed, network hosted, etc...): /vsimem, /vsizip,
/vsitar, /vsicurl, ....
If the destination path is an existing directory, the file will be
moved to it.
It can move files and directories between different virtual file
systems, but this will involve copying and deletion.
Note that for cloud object storage, moving/renaming a directory may
involve renaming all files it contains recursively, and is thus not
an atomic operation (and could be slow and expensive on directories
with many files!)
This is implemented by VSIMove().
This is an analog of the UNIX mv command, and gdal vsi mv is an alias
for gdal vsi move.
EXAMPLES
Example 1: Rename a file within the same virtual file system
$ gdal vsi move /vsis3/bucket/my.tif /vsis3/bucket/new_name.tif
Example 2: Move a file into another directory within the same virtual
file system
$ gdal vsi move /vsis3/bucket/my.tif /vsis3/bucket/existing_subdir
Example 3: Move a directory between two different virtual file systems
$ gdal vsi move /vsis3/bucket/my_directory /vsigs/bucket/
AUTHOR
Even Rouault <even.rouault@spatialys.com>
COPYRIGHT
1998-2026
March 20, 2026 GDAL-VSI-MOVE(1)