rm which stands for "remove" is a command used to remove (delete) specific files. It can also be used to remove directories by using the appropriate flag.
rm filename.txt
rm [OPTION] [FILE|DIRECTORY]
| Short Flag | Long Flag | Description |
|---|---|---|
-f |
--force |
Ignore nonexistance of files or directories, never prompt |
-i |
- | Prompt before every removal |
-I |
- | Prompt once before removal of more than 3 files, or when removing recursively |
-d |
--dir |
remove empty directories |
-v |
--verbose |
explain what is being done |
-r or -R |
--recursive |
remove directories and their contents recursively |
| - | --help |
Display help then exit |
| - | --version |
First, Print version Information, Then exit |
| - | --no-preserve-root |
do not treat / specially |
| - | -preserve-root[=all] |
do not remove / (default) with 'all', reject any command line argument on a separate device from its parent |
| - | --interactive[=WHEN] |
prompt according to WHEN, never, once -I, or always -i, without WHEN, prompt always |
| - | --one-file-system |
when removing a hierarchy recursively, skip any directory that is on a file system different from that of the corresponding command line argument0 |
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
rmdoesn't remove directories by default, so use-r,-R,--recursiveoptions to remove each listed directory, along with all of its contents.- To remove a file whose name starts with
-such as-foo, use one of the following commands:rm -- -foorm ./-foo
- To ensure that files/directories being deleted are truly unrecoverable, consider using the
shredcommand.