rclone Move

rclone move copies files from source to destination and deletes the source files after each file is successfully transferred. It's the rclone equivalent of cutting and pasting files.

Source Files Are Removed

After a successful transfer, source files are deleted. Unlike copy, this is not reversible unless you have a separate backup. Use copy + verify + manual delete for critical data.

Basic Syntax

rclone move SOURCE DESTINATION [flags]

# Move local files to remote
rclone move /srv/exports remote:archive/exports --progress

# Move remote files to local
rclone move remote:staging/data /srv/incoming --progress

# Move between remotes
rclone move remoteA:outbox remoteB:inbox --progress

Key Flags

Flag	Description
--dry-run / -n	Preview what would be moved
--progress / -P	Show real-time progress
--delete-empty-src-dirs	Remove empty directories from source after move
--transfers N	Parallel transfers (default 4)
--bwlimit RATE	Bandwidth limit
--min-age DURATION	Only move files older than this
--max-age DURATION	Only move files newer than this
--include PATTERN	Only move matching files
--exclude PATTERN	Skip matching files
--log-file PATH	Write transfer log

Practical Examples

Drain an Export Directory

# Move processed exports to cloud archive, clean up source
rclone move /srv/exports remote:archive/exports/ \
  --delete-empty-src-dirs --progress

Archive Old Log Files

# Move log files older than 30 days to cold storage
rclone move /var/log/app remote:cold-storage/logs/ \
  --min-age 30d --include "*.log" --progress

Move Uploads to Permanent Storage

# Move uploaded files from staging to permanent storage
rclone move /tmp/uploads remote:media/uploads/ \
  --delete-empty-src-dirs --progress --log-file /var/log/rclone-move.log

Safe Move Pattern (copy + verify + delete)

For mission-critical data, prefer this manual pattern over move:

# Step 1: Copy
rclone copy /srv/critical-data remote:archive/critical --progress

# Step 2: Verify
rclone check /srv/critical-data remote:archive/critical --one-way

# Step 3: Delete source only after verification passes
rm -rf /srv/critical-data/*

tip

The copy + check + manual delete pattern gives you an explicit verification step before removing source files. Use this for data you cannot afford to lose.

move vs copy vs sync

Behavior	move	copy	sync
Adds new files to destination	✅	✅	✅
Updates changed files	✅	✅	✅
Removes source files	✅	❌	❌
Deletes destination extras	❌	❌	✅
Best for	Draining queues	Backups	Mirrors

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall	Consequence	Prevention
Network failure mid-transfer	Partial move — some files at source, some at dest	Use --retries 3 and re-run on failure
Forgetting --delete-empty-src-dirs	Empty directories pile up at source	Add the flag when you want clean source dirs
Moving active files	In-use files may fail or corrupt	Schedule moves during low-activity windows
No --log-file	Can't determine which files were moved	Always log move operations
Using move for backups	Source data is gone — not a backup	Use copy for backups

What's Next

Examples with Output

1. Move a directory to a remote

Transfer all contents and remove the source local files. Command:

rclone move /home/user/exports gdrive:archives/exports -v

Output:

2024/01/15 12:00:00 INFO  : data_2023.csv: Copied (new)
2024/01/15 12:00:00 INFO  : data_2023.csv: Deleted

2. Move and clean up empty source directories

Ensure no empty folders are left behind locally. Command:

rclone move /tmp/staging remote:bucket/production --delete-empty-src-dirs

Output:

(Files moved, local '/tmp/staging' removed if empty)

3. Move only old files

Archive files that haven't been touched in 30 days. Command:

rclone move /logs remote:log-archive --min-age 30d --progress

Output:

Transferred:   50 MiB / 50 MiB, 100%, 5 MiB/s, ETA 0s
Transferred:   10 / 10, 100%
Elapsed time:  10.5s

4. Dry run of a move operation

See which files would be deleted from the source. Command:

rclone move /src /dest --dry-run

Output:

2024/01/15 12:00:00 NOTICE: file1.txt: Not moving as --dry-run is set

5. Move with server-side optimization

Move files between two buckets on the same provider (e.g., S3). Command:

rclone move s3:bucket1/data s3:bucket2/data --progress

Output:

Transferred:   0 / 0, -, 0 B/s, ETA -
Checks:        100 / 100, 100%
Transferred:   100 / 100, 100% (server-side moved)