rm(1) - f14

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, 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 giv‐
35              ing 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       -v, --verbose
56              explain what is being done
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58       --help display this help and exit
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60       --version
61              output version information and exit
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63       By default, rm does not remove directories.  Use the --recursive (-r or
64       -R) option to remove each listed directory, too, along with all of  its
65       contents.
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67       To  remove a file whose name starts with a `-', for example `-foo', use
68       one of these commands:
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70              rm -- -foo
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72              rm ./-foo
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74       Note that if you use rm to remove a  file,  it  might  be  possible  to
75       recover  some  of its contents, given sufficient expertise and/or time.
76       For greater assurance that the contents are truly  unrecoverable,  con‐
77       sider using shred.
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AUTHOR

80       Written  by  Paul  Rubin, David MacKenzie, Richard M. Stallman, and Jim
81       Meyering.
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REPORTING BUGS

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

90       Copyright © 2010 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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