rm — remove files or directories
rm [OPTION...] FILE...
This manual page documents the GNU version of rm. rm removes each specified file. By default, it does not remove directories.
If the −I or
−−interactive=once
option is given, and there are more than three files or the
−r, −R, or −−recursive are given, then
rm prompts the
user for whether to proceed with the entire operation. If the
response is not affirmative, the entire command is
aborted.
Otherwise, if a file is unwritable, standard input is a
terminal, and the −f or
−−force option is not
given, or the −i or
−−interactive=always
option is given, rm prompts the user for
whether to remove the file. If the response is not
affirmative, the file is skipped.
Remove (unlink) the FILE(s).
−f, −−forceignore nonexistent files, never prompt
−iprompt before every removal
−Iprompt once before removing more than three files,
or when removing recursively. Less intrusive than
−i, while still
giving protection against most mistakes
−−interactive[=WHEN]prompt according to WHEN: never, once (−I), or always (−i). Without WHEN, prompt
always
−−one−file−systemwhen removing a hierarchy recursively, skip any directory that is on a file system different from that of the corresponding command line argument
−−no−preserve−rootdo not treat `/' specially
−−preserve−rootdo not remove `/' (default)
−r, −R, −−recursiveremove directories and their contents recursively
−v, −−verboseexplain what is being done
−−helpdisplay this help and exit
−−versionoutput version information and exit
By default, rm does not remove directories. Use the
−−recursive
(−r or −R) option to remove each listed
directory, too, along with all of its contents.
To remove a file whose name starts with a `−', for example `−foo', use one of these commands:
rm -- -foo rm ./-foo
Note that if you use rm to remove a file, it is usually possible to recover the contents of that file. If you want more assurance that the contents are truly unrecoverable, consider using shred.
unlink(1), unlink(2), chattr(1), shred(1)
The full documentation for rm is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and rm programs are properly installed at your site, the command
info rm
should give you access to the complete manual.
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Copyright © 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html> This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. |