Linux in a Nutshell, 6th Edition

Name

rm

Synopsis

rm [options] files

Delete one or more files. To remove a file, you must have write permission in the directory that contains the file, but you need not have permission on the file itself. If you do not have write permission on the file, you will be prompted (y or n) to override. rm is often aliased to rm -i, especially for the root user, to protect against inadvertently deleting files.

Options

-d, --directory

Remove directories, even if they are not empty. Available only to a privileged user.

-f, --force

Remove write-protected files without prompting.

--help

Print a help message and then exit.

-i

Prompt for y (remove the file) or n (do not remove the file) for each file.

--interactive[=when]

Specify when to prompt. The possible values for when are never, no, none, once, always, yes.

-I

Prompt only once before deleting recursively or before deleting more than three files.

--no-preserve-root

Do not treat root (/) specially. This is the default.

--one-file-system

When removing recursively, only remove files on the same filesystem as files.

--preserve-root

Do not remove root (/).

-r, -R, --recursive

If file is a directory, remove the entire directory and all its contents, including subdirectories. Be forewarned: use of this option can be dangerous.

-v, --verbose

Verbose mode (print the name of each file before removing it).

--version

Print version information and then exit.

--

Mark the end of options. Use this when you need to supply a filename beginning with -.