1RM(1)                            User Commands                           RM(1)
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NAME

6       rm - remove files or directories
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SYNOPSIS

9       rm [OPTION]... FILE...
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DESCRIPTION

12       This  manual  page  documents  the  GNU version of rm.  rm removes each
13       specified file.  By default, it does not remove directories.
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15       If the -I or --interactive=once option is given,  and  there  are  more
16       than  three  files  or  the  -r,  -R, or --recursive are given, then rm
17       prompts the user for whether to proceed with the entire operation.   If
18       the response is not affirmative, the entire command is aborted.
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20       Otherwise,  if  a file is unwritable, standard input is a terminal, and
21       the -f or --force  option  is  not  given,  or  the  -i  or  --interac‐
22       tive=always  option is given, rm prompts the user for whether to remove
23       the file.  If the response is not affirmative, the file is skipped.
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OPTIONS

26       Remove (unlink) the FILE(s).
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28       -f, --force
29              ignore nonexistent files and arguments, never prompt
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31       -i     prompt before every removal
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33       -I     prompt once before removing  more  than  three  files,  or  when
34              removing recursively; less intrusive than -i, while still giving
35              protection against most mistakes
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37       --interactive[=WHEN]
38              prompt according to WHEN: never,  once  (-I),  or  always  (-i);
39              without WHEN, prompt always
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41       --one-file-system
42              when  removing  a hierarchy recursively, skip any directory that
43              is on a file system different from  that  of  the  corresponding
44              command line argument
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46       --no-preserve-root
47              do not treat '/' specially
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49       --preserve-root
50              do not remove '/' (default)
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52       -r, -R, --recursive
53              remove directories and their contents recursively
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55       -d, --dir
56              remove empty directories
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58       -v, --verbose
59              explain what is being done
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61       --help display this help and exit
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63       --version
64              output version information and exit
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66       By default, rm does not remove directories.  Use the --recursive (-r or
67       -R) option to remove each listed directory, too, along with all of  its
68       contents.
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70       To  remove a file whose name starts with a '-', for example '-foo', use
71       one of these commands:
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73              rm -- -foo
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75              rm ./-foo
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77       Note that if you use rm to remove a  file,  it  might  be  possible  to
78       recover  some  of its contents, given sufficient expertise and/or time.
79       For greater assurance that the contents are truly  unrecoverable,  con‐
80       sider using shred.
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82       GNU  coreutils  online  help:  <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
83       Report rm translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>
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AUTHOR

86       Written by Paul Rubin, David MacKenzie, Richard M.  Stallman,  and  Jim
87       Meyering.
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90       Copyright  ©  2013  Free Software Foundation, Inc.  License GPLv3+: GNU
91       GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
92       This is free software: you are free  to  change  and  redistribute  it.
93       There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
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SEE ALSO

96       unlink(1), unlink(2), chattr(1), shred(1)
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98       The  full  documentation  for rm is maintained as a Texinfo manual.  If
99       the info and rm programs are properly installed at your site, the  com‐
100       mand
101
102              info coreutils 'rm invocation'
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104       should give you access to the complete manual.
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108GNU coreutils 8.22               October 2018                            RM(1)
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