rm(1) - f38

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  --interactive=al‐
22       ways  option  is  given,  rm prompts the user for whether to remove the
23       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  re‐
34              moving  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[=all]
50              do not remove '/' (default); with 'all', reject any command line
51              argument on a separate device from its parent
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53       -r, -R, --recursive
54              remove directories and their contents recursively
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56       -d, --dir
57              remove empty directories
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59       -v, --verbose
60              explain what is being done
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62       --help display this help and exit
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64       --version
65              output version information and exit
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67       By default, rm does not remove directories.  Use the --recursive (-r or
68       -R)  option to remove each listed directory, too, along with all of its
69       contents.
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71       To remove a file whose name starts with a '-', for example '-foo',  use
72       one of these commands:
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74              rm -- -foo
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76              rm ./-foo
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78       Note  that  if you use rm to remove a file, it might be possible to re‐
79       cover some of its contents, given  sufficient  expertise  and/or  time.
80       For  greater  assurance that the contents are truly unrecoverable, con‐
81       sider using shred(1).
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AUTHOR

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

88       GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
89       Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>
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COPYRIGHT

92       Copyright  ©  2022  Free Software Foundation, Inc.  License GPLv3+: GNU
93       GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
94       This is free software: you are free  to  change  and  redistribute  it.
95       There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
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