rm(1) [bsd man page]
RM(1) General Commands Manual RM(1) NAME
rm, rmdir - remove (unlink) files or directories SYNOPSIS
rm [ -f ] [ -r ] [ -i ] [ - ] file ... rmdir dir ... DESCRIPTION
Rm removes the entries for one or more files from a directory. If an entry was the last link to the file, the file is destroyed. Removal of a file requires write permission in its directory, but neither read nor write permission on the file itself. If a file has no write permission and the standard input is a terminal, its permissions are printed and a line is read from the standard input. If that line begins with `y' the file is deleted, otherwise the file remains. No questions are asked and no errors are reported when the -f (force) option is given. If a designated file is a directory, an error comment is printed unless the optional argument -r has been used. In that case, rm recur- sively deletes the entire contents of the specified directory, and the directory itself. If the -i (interactive) option is in effect, rm asks whether to delete each file, and, under -r, whether to examine each directory. The null option - indicates that all the arguments following it are to be treated as file names. This allows the specification of file names starting with a minus. Rmdir removes entries for the named directories, which must be empty. SEE ALSO
rm(1), unlink(2), rmdir(2) 4th Berkeley Distribution April 29, 1985 RM(1)
Check Out this Related Man Page
rm(1) General Commands Manual rm(1) Name rm, rmdir - remove (unlink) files or directories Syntax rm [-f] [-r] [-i] [-] file-or-directory-name... rmdir directory-name... Description The command removes the entries for one or more files from a directory. If there are no links to the file then the file is destroyed. For further information, see The command removes entries for the named directories, which must be empty. If they are not empty, the directories remain, and displays an error message (see EXAMPLES). To remove a file, you must have write permission in its directory, but you do not need read or write permission on the file itself. When you are using from a terminal, and you do not have write permission on the file, the command asks for confirmation before destroying the file. If input is redirected from the standard input device (your terminal), then checks to ensure that input is not coming from your terminal. If not, sets the -f option, which overrides the file protection, and removes the files silently, regardless of what you have specified in the file redirected as input to See EXAMPLES. Options - Specifies that the named files have names beginning with a minus (for example ). -f Forces the removal of file or directory without first requesting confirmation. Only system or usage messages are displayed. -i Prompts for yes or no response before removing each entry. Does not ask when combined with the -f option. If you type a y, followed by any combination of characters, a yes response is assumed. -r Recursively removes all entries from the specified directory and, then, removes the entry for that directory from its parent direc- tory. Examples The following example shows how to remove a file in your current working directory. rm myfile This example shows use of the null option to remove a file beginning with a minus sign. rm - -gorp This example shows how a confirmation is requested for removal of a file for which you do not have write permission. rm testfile rm: override protection 400 for testfile? y This example shows how the combination of -i and -r options lets you examine all the files in a directory before removing them. In the example, mydirectory is a subdirectory of the current working directory. Note that the last question requests confirmation before removing the directory itself. Although the user types ``y'', requesting removal of the directory, the command does not allow this, because the directory is not empty; the user typed ``n'' to the question about the file file2 , so file2 was not removed. rm -ir mydirectory rm: remove mydirectory/file1? y rm: remove mydirectory/file2? n . . . rm: remove mydirectory? y rm: mydirectory: Directory not empty This example illustrates that overrides file protection when input is redirected from the standard input device. The user creates a file named ``alfie'', with a read-only file protection. The user then creates a file named ``ans'' to contain the character ``n''. The command following destroys the file ``alfie'', even though the redirected input file requested no deletion. cat > alfie hello ^d chmod 444 alfie cat > ans n ^d rm < ans alfie See Also unlink(2) rm(1)