RM(1) INTERACTIVE UNIX System RM(1)
NAME
rm, rmdir - remove files or directories
SYNOPSIS
rm [-f] [-i] file ...
rm -r [-f] [-i] dirname ... [file ...]
rmdir [-p] [-s] dirname ...
DESCRIPTION
rm removes the entries for one or more files from a direc-
tory. If an entry was the last link to the file, the file
is destroyed. If a directory is writable and has the sticky
bit set, files within that directory can be removed only if
one or more of the following is true [see unlink(2)]:
the user owns the file
the user owns the directory
the file is writable by the user
the user is the super-user
If a file has no write permission and the standard input is
a terminal, the full set of permissions (in octal) for the
file are printed followed by a question mark. This is a
prompt for confirmation. If the answer begins with y (for
yes), the file is deleted, otherwise the file remains.
Note that if the standard input is not a terminal, the com-
mand will operate as if the -f option is in effect.
The rmdir command removes the named directory if it is empty
and the parent directory is writable. If the parent direc-
tory has the sticky bit set, removal occurs only if one of
the following is true:
the parent directory is owned by the user
the dirname directory is owned by the user
the dirname directory is writable to the user
the user is the super-user
Three options apply to rm:
-f This option causes the removal of all files (whether
write-protected or not) in a directory without prompt-
ing the user. In a write-protected directory, however,
files are never removed (whatever their permissions
are), but no messages are displayed. If the removal of
a write-protected directory was attempted, this option
cannot suppress an error message.
-r This option causes the recursive removal of any direc-
tories and subdirectories in the argument list. The
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RM(1) INTERACTIVE UNIX System RM(1)
directory will be emptied of files and removed. Note
that the user is normally prompted for removal of any
write-protected files which the directory contains.
The write-protected files are removed without prompt-
ing, however, if the -f option is used, or if the stan-
dard input is not a terminal and the -i option is not
used.
If the removal of a non-empty, write-protected direc-
tory was attempted, the command will always fail (even
if the -f option is used), resulting in an error mes-
sage.
-i With this option, confirmation of removal of any
write-protected file occurs interactively. It over-
rides the -f option and remains in effect even if the
standard input is not a terminal.
Two options apply to rmdir:
-p This option allows users to remove the directory dir-
name and its parent directories which become empty. A
message is printed on standard output as to whether the
whole path is removed or part of the path remains for
some reason.
-s This option is used to suppress the message printed on
standard error when -p is in effect.
DIAGNOSTICS
All messages are generally self-explanatory.
It is forbidden to remove the files "." and ".." in order
to avoid the consequences of inadvertently doing something
like the following:
rm -r .*
Both rm and rmdir return exit codes of 0 if all the speci-
fied directories are removed successfully. Otherwise, they
return a non-zero exit code.
SEE ALSO
chmod(1).
rmdir(2), unlink(2) in the INTERACTIVE SDS Guide and
Programmer's Reference Manual.
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