Relocate files or folders in your repository and fix all broken references automatically.

Install

mkdir -p .claude/skills/git-move && curl -L -o skill.zip "https://agentskills.codes/api/skills/download/11947" && unzip -o skill.zip -d .claude/skills/git-move && rm skill.zip

Installs to .claude/skills/git-move

Activation

This is the description your AI agent reads to decide when to run this skill — the better it matches your request, the more reliably it fires.

Move a file or directory in the Git repo and update all references to it
72 charsno explicit “when” trigger
Intermediate

Key capabilities

  • Validate source and destination paths
  • Move file or directory with Git history preservation
  • Update all references to moved item in repository
  • Search for occurrences of old path
  • Replace old path with new path in various file types
  • Summarize performed changes

How it works

The skill validates paths, moves the file or directory using `git mv` to preserve history, then searches and replaces all occurrences of the old path with the new path across the entire repository.

Inputs & outputs

You give it
Source path and destination path for a file or directory
You get back
Moved file/directory in Git repo and updated references across the repository

When to use git.move

  • Rename a directory
  • Move a file to a new structure
  • Refactor project file locations

About this skill

Goal

  • Given a source path <SRC> and destination path <DST> move a file or directory in the Git repo and update all references to it

Workflow

Validate Inputs

  • Confirm <SRC> exists in the repository
  • Confirm <DST> does not already exist (to prevent accidental overwrites)
  • Ensure the parent directory of <DST> exists, creating it if necessary

Move the File or Directory

  • Run git mv <SRC> <DST> to preserve Git history
  • If the file is in a subrepo (e.g., helpers_root), descend in that dir to use git mv
    • E.g., cd helpers_root && git mv <SRC> <DST> adjusting the paths accordingly

Move the Corresponding Python Tests

  • If <SRC> is a Python file and it has a corresponding test file (e.g., <DIR>/<FILE>.py -> <DIR>/test/test_<FILE>.py), then move also the test file to the proper destination (e.g., <DST>/test/test_<FILE>.py)

Update All References

  • Search the entire repository for any occurrences of <SRC>
    > grep -r -i <SRC> .
    
  • Replace each occurrence of <SRC> with <DST>
  • This includes:
    • Source code imports in Python
    • Unit test code in Python
    • Configuration files in YAML and JSON
    • Documentation in markdown and text
    • Any other plaintext files
  • Skip binary files and the .git/ directory

Summarize Changes

  • Report what changes were performed
    • List every file that had references updated, with a count of replacements per file
    • Flag any ambiguous matches that may need manual review

Ask for Help If Unsure How to Do

  • If the task is not perfectly clear, you MUST not perform it, but ask for clarifications
    • When the task is complex, create a plan.md with 5 bullet points explaining what the plan is

Verify Results

  • Make sure that there is no reference left over about file <SRC>
    > grep -r -i <SRC> .
    

When not to use it

  • When the source path does not exist
  • When the destination path already exists
  • When the task is not perfectly clear

Limitations

  • Confirm `<SRC>` exists in the repository
  • Confirm `<DST>` does not already exist (to prevent accidental overwrites)
  • If the task is not perfectly clear, you MUST not perform it, but ask for clarifications

How it compares

This skill automates both the Git move operation and the repository-wide updating of references, ensuring consistency across the codebase, unlike manual file moves and search-and-replace.

Compared to similar skills

git.move side by side with the closest alternatives in the catalog.

SkillInstallsUpdatedSafetyDifficulty
git.move (this skill)01moNo flagsIntermediate
ast-grep-find37moReviewIntermediate
clean43moReviewIntermediate
code-transfer19moReviewBeginner

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Example prompts that trigger this skill in your AI assistant.

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