NAME

rm, rmdir  − remove (unlink) files or directories

SYNOPSIS

rm [ −f ] [ −r ] [ −i ] [ − ] file ...

rmdir dir ...

DESCRIPTION

Rm removes the directory entries for one or more files.  If an entry was the last link to the file, the file is destroyed.  Rm −r and rmdir remove entries for directories. 

To remove a file, you must have write permission in its directory; but you don’t need read or write permission on the file itself.  If you don’t have write permission on the file and the standard input is a terminal, rm displays the file’s permissions and waits for you to type in a response.  If your response begins with ‘y’ the file is deleted; otherwise the file is left alone. 

To remove a full directory, use rm with the −r option (see below).  Rmdir removes the named directory only if it is empty. 

OPTIONS

The following are options for rm:

−fForce files to be removed, without displaying permissions, asking questions, or reporting errors. 

−rRecursively delete the entire contents of the specified directory and the directory itself. 

−iAsk whether to delete each file, or, under −r, whether to examine each directory.  Sometimes called the interactive option. 

−Treat all the following arguments as filenames — so that you can specify filenames starting with a minus. 

WARNING

It is forbidden to remove the file ‘..’ merely to avoid the antisocial consequences of inadvertently doing something like ‘rm −r .∗’. 

SEE ALSO

rmdir(1), rmdir(2), unlink(2)

Sun Release 1.1  —  Last change: 2 November 1983