NAME

       rm - remove files or directories

SYNOPSIS

       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
       --recursive 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 and arguments, 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

       --one-file-system
              when removing a hierarchy recursively, skip any directory that is on a file system different  from
              that of the corresponding command line argument

       --no-preserve-root
              do not treat '/' specially

       --preserve-root[=all]
              do  not  remove  '/'  (default); with 'all', reject any command line argument on a separate device
              from its parent

       -r, -R, --recursive
              remove directories and their contents recursively

       -d, --dir
              remove empty directories

       -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
       directory, too, along with all of its contents.

       Any  attempt  to  remove  a  file  whose  last  file  name  component  is '.' or '..'  is rejected with a
       diagnostic.

       To remove a file whose name starts with a '-', for example '-foo', use one of these commands:

              rm -- -foo

              rm ./-foo

       If you use rm to remove a file, it might be possible to recover some of its  contents,  given  sufficient
       expertise  and/or  time.   For  greater  assurance  that  the  contents are unrecoverable, consider using
       shred(1).

AUTHOR

       Written by Paul Rubin, David MacKenzie, Richard M. Stallman, and Jim Meyering.

REPORTING BUGS

       GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
       Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright  ©  2024  Free  Software  Foundation,  Inc.   License  GPLv3+:  GNU  GPL  version  3  or  later
       <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
       This  is  free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.  There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent
       permitted by law.

SEE ALSO

       unlink(1), unlink(2), chattr(1), shred(1)

       Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/rm>
       or available locally via: info '(coreutils) rm invocation'

GNU coreutils 9.5                                   June 2025                                              RM(1)