From Linux Man Pages
rm - remove files or directories
rm [OPTION]... FILE...
DESCRIPTION
This manual page documents the GNU version of rm. rm removes each specified file. By default, it does not
remove directories.
If the -I or --interactive=once option is given, and there are more than three files or the -r, -R, or --recur-
sive are given, then rm prompts the user for whether to proceed with the entire operation. If the response is
not affirmative, the entire command is aborted.
Otherwise, if a file is unwritable, standard input is a terminal, and the -f or --force option is not given, or
the -i or --interactive=always option is given, rm prompts the user for whether to remove the file. If the
response is not affirmative, the file is skipped.
OPTIONS
Remove (unlink) the FILE(s).
-f, --force
ignore nonexistent files, never prompt
-i prompt before every removal
-I prompt once before removing more than three files, or when removing recursively. Less intrusive than -i,
while still giving protection against most mistakes
--interactive[=WHEN]
prompt according to WHEN: never, once (-I), or always (-i). Without WHEN, prompt always
--no-preserve-root
do not treat `/' specially
--preserve-root
do not remove `/' (default)
-r, -R, --recursive
remove directories and their contents recursively
-v, --verbose
explain what is being done
--help display this help and exit
--version
output version information and exit
By default, rm does not remove directories. Use the --recursive (-r or -R) option to remove each listed direc-
tory, too, along with all of its contents.
To remove a file whose name starts with a `-', for example `-foo', use one of these commands:
rm -- -foo
rm ./-foo
Note that if you use rm to remove a file, it is usually possible to recover the contents of that file. If you
want more assurance that the contents are truly unrecoverable, consider using shred.
REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs to <bug-coreutils@gnu.org>.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright � 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software. You may redistribute copies of it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
<http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
RELATED
unlink(1), unlink(2), chattr(1), shred(1)
The full documentation for rm is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and rm programs are properly
installed at your site, the command
info rm
should give you access to the complete manual.
CATEGORY