#!/bin/sh

# usage: [-n integer] file ...
# move given files into their parent directories unless a file with the same name already exists there.
# if the "-n" option for the count of parent directories to skip is given, it must be the first argument.

n=1
test "$1" = "-n" && { n=$2; shift 2; }

for a in "$@"; do
  abs=$(realpath "$a") || continue
  dir=$(dirname "$abs")
  base=$(basename "$abs")
  i=0
  while test "$i" -lt "$n" && test "$dir" != "/"; do
    dir=$(dirname "$dir")
    i=$((i + 1))
  done
  test "$dir" = "/" && dir=""
  target="$dir/$base"
  test ! -e "$target" && mv "$a" "$target"
done