linux man page for rm

RM(1)								   User Commands							     RM(1)

NAME
       rm - remove files or directories

SYNOPSIS
       rm [OPTION]... FILE...

DESCRIPTION
       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	--interac-
       tive=always option is given, rm prompts the user for whether to remove the file.  If the response is not affirmative, the file is skipped.

OPTIONS
       Remove (unlink) the FILE(s).

       -f, --force
	      ignore nonexistent files, never prompt

       -i     prompt before every removal

       -I     prompt once before removing more than three files, or when removing recursively.	Less intrusive than -i, while still giving protec-
	      tion against most mistakes

       --interactive[=WHEN]
	      prompt according to WHEN: never, once (-I), or always (-i).  Without WHEN, prompt always

       --one-file-system
	      when removing a hierarchy recursively, skip any directory that is on a file system different from that of the corresponding  command
	      line argument

       --no-preserve-root
	      do not treat `/' specially

       --preserve-root
	      do not remove `/' (default)

       -r, -R, --recursive
	      remove directories and their contents recursively

       -v, --verbose
	      explain what is being done

       --help display this help and exit

       --version
	      output 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 might be possible to recover some of its contents, given  sufficient  expertise  and/or  time.
       For greater assurance that the contents are truly unrecoverable, consider using shred.

AUTHOR
       Written by Paul Rubin, David MacKenzie, Richard M. Stallman, and Jim Meyering.

REPORTING BUGS
       Report rm bugs to bug-coreutils@gnu.org
       GNU coreutils home page: <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
       General help using GNU software: <http://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>
       Report rm translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright (C) 2010 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.

SEE ALSO
       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 com-
       mand

	      info coreutils 'rm invocation'

       should give you access to the complete manual.

GNU coreutils 8.5						   February 2011							     RM(1)