bash Cookbook

Removing or Renaming Files Named with Special Characters

Problem

You need to remove or rename a file that was created with a special character that causes rm or mv to behave in unexpected ways. The canonical example of this is any file starting with a dash, such as -f or --help, which will cause any command you try to use to interpret the filename as an argument.

Solution

If the file begins with a dash, use -- to signal the end of arguments to the command, or use a full (/tmp/-f) or relative (./-f) path. If the file contains other special characters that are interpreted by the shell, such as a space or asterisk, use shell quoting. If you use filename completion (the Tab key by default), it will automatically quote special characters for you. You can also use single-quotes around the troublesome name.

$ ls
--help                          this is a *crazy* file name!

$ mv --help help
mv: unknown option -- -
usage: mv [-fiv] source target
       mv [-fiv] source ... directory

$ mv -- --help my_help

$ mv this\ is\ a\ \*crazy\*\ file\ name\! this_is_a_better_name

$ ls
my_help                this_is_a_better_name

Discussion

To understand what is actually being executed after shell expansion, preface your command with echo:

$ rm *
rm: unknown option -- -
usage: rm [-f|-i] [-dPRrvW] file ...$ echo rm *
rm --help this is a *crazy* file name!

See Also

• http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/faq/coreutils-faq.html#How-do-I-removefiles-that-start-with-a-dash_003f

• Sections 2.1 and 2.2 of http://www.faqs.org/faqs/unix-faq/faq/part2/

• Using Shell Quoting ...