Linux · file management

rm

gone means gone

rm removes the names you give it. With -r it works down through a directory and removes everything inside. Nothing is moved to a trash folder — the space is simply marked free — so the only real protection is reading the command before pressing Enter.

rm does not ask, does not explain and does not keep a copy — you are the confirmation step.

Removes

Files

directories need -r

Undo

None

no trash, no history

Ask first

-i

or -I for one question

Never prompt

-f

also hides errors

At the terminal

Read the session first, then the notes: each numbered line in the output is answered by the note with the same number.

user@netflow — bashcoreutils

$ rm -ri build/

1rm: descend into directory 'build/'? y

2rm: remove regular file 'build/app.js'? y

rm: remove regular file 'build/app.css'? y

3rm: remove directory 'build/'? y

$ ls build

4ls: cannot access 'build': No such file or directory

Illustrative session · names, sizes and dates are examples, and every address is from a documentation or private range

Reading the output

What the numbered lines are telling you

-r lets rm go into a directory

Without it rm refuses directories altogether. The question appears because of -i.

-i asks about every single file

Slow, but you see exactly what is about to go. -I asks once for the whole operation instead.

The directory goes last

It can only be removed once it is empty, so rm works from the inside out.

There is nothing to restore

The names are gone and no copy was kept. Recovery now means a backup or a snapshot.

Switches

A switch changes how the command behaves. These are the ones used day to day; man rm lists the rest. Single-letter switches can usually be joined, so -l -a may be written -la.

-r: Recursive: remove a directory and everything inside it. -R is the same.
-f: Force: never ask, and stay silent about files that do not exist.
-i: Interactive: ask before every removal.
-I: Ask once, before removing more than three files or removing recursively.
-d: Remove an empty directory, as rmdir does.
-v: Verbose: print each file as it is removed.

Variations worth knowing

The same tool, pointed at a narrower question. These four cover most of what it is reached for day to day.

rm -I *.log

One confirmation before removing more than three files — a sensible default to alias.

rm -rf node_modules

Removes a tree without asking and without complaining. The command to read twice.

rm -- -file.txt

Removes a file whose name starts with a dash.

ls *.tmp && rm *.tmp

List what the pattern matches first; remove only if the list is right.

In cybersecurity

rm is where a small typing mistake becomes a large and permanent one — and deleting a file is still not the same as destroying its contents.

A stray space

"rm -rf /var/www /tmp" and "rm -rf /var/www/ tmp" differ by one space. An empty variable in "rm -rf $DIR/" is worse: it becomes "rm -rf /".

Deleted is not erased

rm frees the space but the data stays on the disk until overwritten. Sensitive files need shred or full-disk encryption.

Never as root by habit

A normal user can only delete their own files. The same command under sudo can delete the system.

Filed under

File management

Read alongside

mvMoves a file or directory to another place, or gives it a new name — in Linux the two are the same operation.findWalks a directory tree and prints every entry that passes the tests you give it — by name, age, size, owner or permissions.