why 'cannot overwrite existing file'?
If you are running bash, the noclobber
option has been set. Use >|
if you want to temporarily override this.
It is possible that the file was set as immutable with chattr
. It's rarely used, but it's a realistic possibility. In that case:
chattr -i [filename]
... should be able to remove that attribute.
Turn off noclobber in current shell session:
set +o noclobber
Turn on noclobber in current shelll session:
set -o noclobber
See all bash settings:
set -o
References:
https://www.victordodon.com/to-clobber-or-to-noclobber/
https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/html_node/The-Set-Builtin.html