Use rm to Delete Files and Directories on Linux
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This guide shows how to use rm to remove files, directories, and other content from the command line in Linux.
NoteTo avoid creating examples that might remove important files, this Quick Answer uses variations offilename.txt. Adjust each command as needed.
The Basics of Using rm to Delete a File
Delete a single file using
rm:rm filename.txtDelete multiple files:
rm filename1.txt filename2.txtDelete all
.txtfiles in the directory:rm *.txt
Options Available for rm
-i Interactive mode
Confirm each file before delete:
rm -i filename.txt
-f Force
Remove without prompting:
rm -f filename.txt
-v Verbose
Show report of each file removed:
rm -v filename*.txt
-d Directory
Remove the directory:
rm -d filenames/
Note: This option only works if the directory is empty. To remove non-empty directories and the files within them, use the r flag.
-r Recursive
Remove a directory and any contents within it:
rm -r filenames/
Combine Options
Options can be combined. For example, to remove all .png files with a prompt before each deletion and a report following each:
rm -iv *.png
remove filename01.png? y
filename01.png
remove filename02.png? y
filename02.png
remove filename03.png? y
filename03.png
remove filename04.png? y
filename04.png
remove filename05.png? y
filename05.png-rf Remove Files and Directories, Even if Not Empty
Add the f flag to a recursive rm command to skip all confirmation prompts:
rm -rf filenames/
Combine rm with Other Commands
Remove Old Files Using find and rm
Combine the
find command’s -exec option with rm to find and remove all files older than 28 days old. The files that match are printed on the screen (-print):
find filename* -type f -mtime +28 -exec rm '{}' ';' -print
In this command’s syntax, {} is replaced by the find command with all files that it finds, and ; tells find that the command sequence invoked with the -exec option has ended. In particular, -print is an option for find, not the executed rm. {} and ; are both surrounded with single quote marks to protect them from interpretation by the shell.
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