uutils/coreutils

mv hardlinks should be preserved when moving into a different directory

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#4,833 opened on May 6, 2023

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 (8 comments) (0 reactions) (0 assignees)Rust (23,246 stars) (1,852 forks)batch import
U - mvgood first issue

Description

Testcase:

export C=/usr/bin/
export C="target/debug/coreutils "
dir=hlink
other_partition_tmpdir=/dev/shm/tmp769306

rm -rf $dir $other_partition_tmpdir
mkdir $dir $other_partition_tmpdir
> $dir/a
ln $dir/a $dir/b

${C}mv $dir "$other_partition_tmpdir"

ls -1i "$other_partition_tmpdir/$dir"

They should be equal. They aren't currently

Contributor guide

Tech stack
rust
Domain
cli
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Rust programming basicsHard link conceptuutils project setup
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
70
Research direction
Investigate the `mv` command implementation in the repository (likely in `src/uu/mv`). The testcase shows that moving a directory with hardlinked files across partitions fails to preserve links. Look at how hardlinks are handled during move operations, especially when crossing filesystem boundaries. Check if there are any existing tests for hardlink preservation and consider adding a regression test.