Introduction

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Now let’s have a look at some most important rm command in Linux with examples

Delete a File

Delete a file using rm command in Linux.

elinuxbook@ubuntu:~$ rm file.txt   # Delete a File

Delete a File with output

If you wish to get output after delete a file then use rm command with argument -v. Refer the command below.

elinuxbook@ubuntu:~$ rm -v file.txt   # Delete a file with Output
removed 'file.txt'

Prompt before Delete a File/Directory

rm command with argument -i will prompt you a warning message before delete a file. You will get the warning message before deleting each file if you are deleting multiple files.

elinuxbook@ubuntu:~$ rm -i file.txt   # Prompt a Warning Message before delete the file
rm: remove regular empty file 'file.txt'? y

Delete a Empty Directory

To delete a empty directory use rm command in Linux with argument -d. Refer the command below.

elinuxbook@ubuntu:~$ rm -d data/   # Delete Empty Directory

Delete a Directory with it’s Content

To delete a directory with all it’s content recursively use rm command with argument -R. Use the argument -f with the argument -R to delete the directory forcefully.

elinuxbook@ubuntu:~$ rm -Rf data/   # Delete a Directory with content

You can also use the below command to delete a directory with it’s content recursively.

elinuxbook@ubuntu:~$ rm -rf data/

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Delete a file Forcefully

To delete a file forcefully use rm command in Linux with argument -f. Refer the command below.

elinuxbook@ubuntu:~$ rm -f file.txt   # Delete a File Forcefully

Prompt before delete more then 3 files

rm command with argument -I will Prompt a warning message once before delete more the three files.

elinuxbook@ubuntu:~/data$ rm -I file*   # Prompt a warning message before delete 3 files
rm: remove 5 arguments? y

Delete Multiple Files using Wildcard

Delete multiple files at once using rm command in Linux using Wildcard. Here I have five text files. So to delete all files use the below command.

elinuxbook@ubuntu:~/data$ ls
file1.txt  file2.txt  file3.txt  file4.txt  file5.txt
elinuxbook@ubuntu:~/data$ rm file*   # Delete Multiple Files using Wildcard

You can also delete multiple files at once with the help of file extension using rm command in Linux. Refer the command below.

elinuxbook@ubuntu:~/data$ ls
file1.txt  file2.txt  file3.txt  file4.txt  file5.txt
elinuxbook@ubuntu:~/data$ rm *.txt

We tries to include all possible rm command in Linux with examples. If some thing missed out you can comment on comment box below.

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The post BEST RM COMMAND IN LINUX WITH EXAMPLES appeared first on Elinuxbook: Linux Tutorials, Guides, Howtos, Tips and Tricks.