NAME

       ldapdelete - LDAP delete entry tool

SYNOPSIS

       ldapdelete  [-V[V]]  [-d debuglevel]  [-n] [-v] [-c] [-f file] [-r] [-z sizelimit] [-M[M]]
       [-x] [-D binddn] [-W] [-w passwd] [-y passwdfile] [-H ldapuri] [-h ldaphost] [-p ldapport]
       [-P {2|3}] [-e [!]ext[=extparam]] [-E [!]ext[=extparam]] [-o opt[=optparam]] [-O security-
       properties]  [-I]  [-Q]  [-N]  [-U authcid]  [-R realm]  [-X authzid]  [-Y mech]   [-Z[Z]]
       [DN [...]]

DESCRIPTION

       ldapdelete is a shell-accessible interface to the ldap_delete_ext(3) library call.

       ldapdelete  opens  a connection to an LDAP server, binds, and deletes one or more entries.
       If one or more DN arguments are provided,  entries  with  those  Distinguished  Names  are
       deleted.   Each DN should be provided using the LDAPv3 string representation as defined in
       RFC 4514.  If no DN arguments are provided, a list of DNs is read from standard input  (or
       from file if the -f flag is used).

OPTIONS

       -V[V]  Print version info.  If -VV is given, only the version information is printed.

       -d debuglevel
              Set  the  LDAP  debugging  level  to  debuglevel.  ldapdelete must be compiled with
              LDAP_DEBUG defined for this option to have any effect.

       -n     Show what would be done, but don't actually delete entries.  Useful  for  debugging
              in conjunction with -v.

       -v     Use verbose mode, with many diagnostics written to standard output.

       -c     Continuous  operation  mode.  Errors  are  reported,  but ldapdelete will  continue
              with  deletions.   The default is to exit after reporting an error.

       -f file
              Read a series of DNs from file, one per line, performing an LDAP delete for each.

       -r     Do a recursive delete.  If the DN specified isn't a leaf,  its  children,  and  all
              their  children  are deleted down the tree.  No verification is done, so if you add
              this switch, ldapdelete will happily delete large portions of your tree.  Use  with
              care.

       -z sizelimit
              Use  sizelimit  when searching for children DN to delete, to circumvent any server-
              side size limit.  Only useful in conjunction with -r.

       -M[M]  Enable manage DSA IT control.  -MM makes control critical.

       -x     Use simple authentication instead of SASL.

       -D binddn
              Use the Distinguished Name binddn to bind to the LDAP directory.  For  SASL  binds,
              the server is expected to ignore this value.

       -W     Prompt  for simple authentication.  This is used instead of specifying the password
              on the command line.

       -w passwd
              Use passwd as the password for simple authentication.

       -y passwdfile
              Use complete contents of passwdfile as the password for simple authentication.

       -H ldapuri
              Specify URI(s) referring to the ldap server(s); only the protocol/host/port  fields
              are allowed; a list of URI, separated by whitespace or commas is expected.

       -h ldaphost
              Specify an alternate host on which the ldap server is running.  Deprecated in favor
              of -H.

       -p ldapport
              Specify an alternate TCP port where the ldap server is  listening.   Deprecated  in
              favor of -H.

       -P {2|3}
              Specify the LDAP protocol version to use.

       -e [!]ext[=extparam]

       -E [!]ext[=extparam]

              Specify  general  extensions  with -e and delete extensions with -E.  ´!´ indicates
              criticality.

              General extensions:
                [!]assert=<filter>    (an RFC 4515 Filter)
                !authzid=<authzid>    ("dn:<dn>" or "u:<user>")
                [!]bauthzid           (RFC 3829 authzid control)
                [!]chaining[=<resolve>[/<cont>]]
                [!]manageDSAit
                [!]noop
                ppolicy
                [!]postread[=<attrs>] (a comma-separated attribute list)
                [!]preread[=<attrs>]  (a comma-separated attribute list)
                [!]relax
                sessiontracking
                abandon,cancel,ignore (SIGINT sends abandon/cancel,
                or ignores response; if critical, doesn't wait for SIGINT.
                not really controls)

              Delete extensions:
                (none)

       -o opt[=optparam]

              Specify general options.

              General options:
                nettimeout=<timeout>  (in seconds, or "none" or "max")
                ldif-wrap=<width>     (in columns, or "no" for no wrapping)

       -O security-properties
              Specify SASL security properties.

       -I     Enable SASL Interactive mode.  Always prompt.  Default is to prompt only as needed.

       -Q     Enable SASL Quiet mode.  Never prompt.

       -N     Do not use reverse DNS to canonicalize SASL host name.

       -U authcid
              Specify the authentication ID for SASL bind. The form of the  identity  depends  on
              the actual SASL mechanism used.

       -R realm
              Specify the realm of authentication ID for SASL bind. The form of the realm depends
              on the actual SASL mechanism used.

       -X authzid
              Specify the requested authorization ID for SASL bind.  authzid must be one  of  the
              following formats: dn:<distinguished name> or u:<username>

       -Y mech
              Specify  the  SASL  mechanism to be used for authentication. If it's not specified,
              the program will choose the best mechanism the server knows.

       -Z[Z]  Issue StartTLS (Transport Layer Security) extended operation. If you use  -ZZ,  the
              command will require the operation to be successful.

EXAMPLE

       The following command:

           ldapdelete "cn=Delete Me,dc=example,dc=com"

       will  attempt  to  delete  the entry named "cn=Delete Me,dc=example,dc=com".  Of course it
       would probably be necessary to supply authentication credentials.

DIAGNOSTICS

       Exit status is 0 if no errors occur.  Errors result  in  a  non-zero  exit  status  and  a
       diagnostic message being written to standard error.

SEE ALSO

       ldap.conf(5),    ldapadd(1),   ldapmodify(1),   ldapmodrdn(1),   ldapsearch(1),   ldap(3),
       ldap_delete_ext(3)

AUTHOR

       The OpenLDAP Project <http://www.openldap.org/>

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

       OpenLDAP   Software   is   developed   and   maintained   by    The    OpenLDAP    Project
       <http://www.openldap.org/>.   OpenLDAP Software is derived from the University of Michigan
       LDAP 3.3 Release.