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ID: 309

Category: Linux Terminal

Added: 31st of May 2022

Views: 2,274

Basic usage of using the rm command to delete directories and files using the terminal

To delete an empty directory use the following command

If you try and delete a directory that is not empty, using the -d argument you will get the following error

To delete a directory including all files use the -r switch

To prompt before every removal use the -i switch

To explain what is going on after every removal using the -v switch

If you have a directory and files owned by root and you issue the rm -r command in the terminal you will get the following error

To remove the directory and files you will issue the following command. You will need to enter your root password

When you use the rm command to remove directories and files they do not get sent to the trash

Why do I need to use the terminal?
If your using a desktop environment you can just as easily right click on the directory and send the directory and it's contents to trash, however if a directory and it's files are owned by root then you would need to issue the rm command through the terminal as some Linux distributions do not allow to open a directory as root via the right click menu.

Another reason you would need to use the rm command is if you needed to delete a directory and it's files on a remote server.

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