move_file
Move or rename files and directories by specifying source and destination paths, with optional overwrite protection for existing files.
Instructions
Move or rename files and directories.
Args:
source: Source path
destination: Destination path
overwrite: Whether to overwrite existing destination
ctx: MCP context
Returns:
Success or error messageInput Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| source | Yes | ||
| destination | Yes | ||
| overwrite | No |
Implementation Reference
- mcp_filesystem/server.py:233-257 (handler)MCP tool handler for 'move_file'. This is the entry point decorated with @mcp.tool(), handling input parameters, error catching, and delegating to the core operations.move_file method.
@mcp.tool() async def move_file( source: str, destination: str, ctx: Context, overwrite: bool = False, ) -> str: """Move or rename files and directories. Args: source: Source path destination: Destination path overwrite: Whether to overwrite existing destination ctx: MCP context Returns: Success or error message """ try: components = get_components() await components["operations"].move_file(source, destination, overwrite) return f"Successfully moved {source} to {destination}" except Exception as e: return f"Error moving file: {str(e)}" - mcp_filesystem/operations.py:354-395 (helper)Core implementation of the move_file logic in FileOperations class. Validates paths using PathValidator, checks existence and overwrite conditions, then performs the move using shutil.move in a thread.
async def move_file( self, source: Union[str, Path], destination: Union[str, Path], overwrite: bool = False, ) -> None: """Move or rename a file or directory. Args: source: Source path destination: Destination path overwrite: Whether to overwrite destination if it exists Raises: ValueError: If paths are outside allowed directories FileNotFoundError: If source does not exist FileExistsError: If destination exists and overwrite is False """ source_path, source_allowed = await self.validator.validate_path(source) if not source_allowed: raise ValueError(f"Source path outside allowed directories: {source}") dest_path, dest_allowed = await self.validator.validate_path(destination) if not dest_allowed: raise ValueError( f"Destination path outside allowed directories: {destination}" ) # Check if source exists if not source_path.exists(): raise FileNotFoundError(f"Source does not exist: {source}") # Check if destination exists and we're not overwriting if dest_path.exists() and not overwrite: raise FileExistsError(f"Destination already exists: {destination}") try: # Use shutil.move which handles cross-filesystem moves await anyio.to_thread.run_sync(shutil.move, source_path, dest_path) except (PermissionError, shutil.Error) as e: raise ValueError(f"Cannot move file: {e}")