{
"content": [
{
"type": "text",
"text": "# RM (man)\n\n## NAME\n\nrm - remove files or directories\n\n## SYNOPSIS\n\nrm [OPTION]... [FILE]...\n\n## DESCRIPTION\n\nThis manual page documents the GNU version of rm. rm removes each specified file. By de‐\nfault, it does not remove directories.\n\n## TLDR\n\n> Remove files or directories.\n\n- Remove specific files:\n `rm {{path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...}}`\n- Remove specific files ignoring nonexistent ones:\n `rm {{-f|--force}} {{path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...}}`\n- Remove specific files interactively prompting before each removal:\n `rm {{-i|--interactive}} {{path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...}}`\n- Remove specific files printing info about each removal:\n `rm {{-v|--verbose}} {{path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...}}`\n- Remove specific files and directories recursively:\n `rm {{-r|--recursive}} {{path/to/file_or_directory1 path/to/file_or_directory2 ...}}`\n- Remove empty directories (this is considered the safe method):\n `rm {{-d|--dir}} {{path/to/directory}}`\n\n*Source: tldr-pages*\n\n## Sections\n\n- **NAME**\n- **SYNOPSIS**\n- **DESCRIPTION**\n- **OPTIONS** (9 subsections)\n- **AUTHOR**\n- **REPORTING BUGS**\n- **COPYRIGHT**\n- **SEE ALSO**\n\nUse structuredContent.sections for detailed options, examples, and full documentation.\n"
}
],
"structuredContent": {
"command": "RM",
"section": "",
"mode": "man",
"summary": "rm - remove files or directories",
"synopsis": "rm [OPTION]... [FILE]...",
"tldr_summary": "Remove files or directories.",
"tldr_examples": [
{
"description": "Remove specific files",
"command": "rm {{path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...}}"
},
{
"description": "Remove specific files ignoring nonexistent ones",
"command": "rm {{-f|--force}} {{path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...}}"
},
{
"description": "Remove specific files interactively prompting before each removal",
"command": "rm {{-i|--interactive}} {{path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...}}"
},
{
"description": "Remove specific files printing info about each removal",
"command": "rm {{-v|--verbose}} {{path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...}}"
},
{
"description": "Remove specific files and directories recursively",
"command": "rm {{-r|--recursive}} {{path/to/file_or_directory1 path/to/file_or_directory2 ...}}"
},
{
"description": "Remove empty directories (this is considered the safe method)",
"command": "rm {{-d|--dir}} {{path/to/directory}}"
}
],
"tldr_source": "official",
"flags": [
{
"flag": "-f",
"long": "--force",
"arg": null,
"description": "ignore nonexistent files and arguments, never prompt"
},
{
"flag": "-i",
"long": null,
"arg": null,
"description": ""
},
{
"flag": "-I",
"long": null,
"arg": null,
"description": "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 al‐ ways"
},
{
"flag": "",
"long": "--one-file-system",
"arg": null,
"description": "when removing a hierarchy recursively, skip any directory that is on a file system different from that of the corresponding command line argument"
},
{
"flag": "",
"long": "--no-preserve-root",
"arg": null,
"description": "do not treat '/' specially --preserve-root[=all] do not remove '/' (default); with 'all', reject any command line argument on a sepa‐ rate device from its parent"
},
{
"flag": "-R",
"long": "--recursive",
"arg": null,
"description": "remove directories and their contents recursively"
},
{
"flag": "-d",
"long": "--dir",
"arg": null,
"description": "remove empty directories"
},
{
"flag": "-v",
"long": "--verbose",
"arg": null,
"description": "explain what is being done --help display this help and exit"
},
{
"flag": "",
"long": "--version",
"arg": null,
"description": "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. 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 might be possible to recover some of its con‐ tents, given sufficient expertise and/or time. For greater assurance that the contents are truly unrecoverable, consider using shred."
}
],
"examples": [],
"see_also": [
{
"name": "unlink",
"section": "1",
"url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/unlink/1/json"
},
{
"name": "unlink",
"section": "2",
"url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/unlink/2/json"
},
{
"name": "chattr",
"section": "1",
"url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/chattr/1/json"
},
{
"name": "shred",
"section": "1",
"url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/shred/1/json"
}
],
"section_outline": [
{
"name": "NAME",
"lines": 2,
"subsections": []
},
{
"name": "SYNOPSIS",
"lines": 2,
"subsections": []
},
{
"name": "DESCRIPTION",
"lines": 11,
"subsections": []
},
{
"name": "OPTIONS",
"lines": 2,
"subsections": [
{
"name": "-f --force",
"lines": 2,
"flag": "-f",
"long": "--force"
},
{
"name": "-i",
"lines": 1,
"flag": "-i"
},
{
"name": "-I",
"lines": 6,
"flag": "-I"
},
{
"name": "--one-file-system",
"lines": 3,
"long": "--one-file-system"
},
{
"name": "--no-preserve-root",
"lines": 6,
"long": "--no-preserve-root"
},
{
"name": "-r -R --recursive",
"lines": 2,
"flag": "-R",
"long": "--recursive"
},
{
"name": "-d --dir",
"lines": 2,
"flag": "-d",
"long": "--dir"
},
{
"name": "-v --verbose",
"lines": 4,
"flag": "-v",
"long": "--verbose"
},
{
"name": "--version",
"lines": 15,
"long": "--version"
}
]
},
{
"name": "AUTHOR",
"lines": 2,
"subsections": []
},
{
"name": "REPORTING BUGS",
"lines": 3,
"subsections": []
},
{
"name": "COPYRIGHT",
"lines": 5,
"subsections": []
},
{
"name": "SEE ALSO",
"lines": 8,
"subsections": []
}
],
"sections": {
"NAME": {
"content": "rm - remove files or directories\n",
"subsections": []
},
"SYNOPSIS": {
"content": "rm [OPTION]... [FILE]...\n",
"subsections": []
},
"DESCRIPTION": {
"content": "This manual page documents the GNU version of rm. rm removes each specified file. By de‐\nfault, it does not remove directories.\n\nIf the -I or --interactive=once option is given, and there are more than three files or the\n-r, -R, or --recursive are given, then rm prompts the user for whether to proceed with the\nentire operation. If the response is not affirmative, the entire command is aborted.\n\nOtherwise, if a file is unwritable, standard input is a terminal, and the -f or --force op‐\ntion is not given, or the -i or --interactive=always option is given, rm prompts the user for\nwhether to remove the file. If the response is not affirmative, the file is skipped.\n",
"subsections": []
},
"OPTIONS": {
"content": "Remove (unlink) the FILE(s).\n",
"subsections": [
{
"name": "-f --force",
"content": "ignore nonexistent files and arguments, never prompt\n",
"flag": "-f",
"long": "--force"
},
{
"name": "-i",
"content": "",
"flag": "-i"
},
{
"name": "-I",
"content": "intrusive than -i, while still giving protection against most mistakes\n\n--interactive[=WHEN]\nprompt according to WHEN: never, once (-I), or always (-i); without WHEN, prompt al‐\nways\n",
"flag": "-I"
},
{
"name": "--one-file-system",
"content": "when removing a hierarchy recursively, skip any directory that is on a file system\ndifferent from that of the corresponding command line argument\n",
"long": "--one-file-system"
},
{
"name": "--no-preserve-root",
"content": "do not treat '/' specially\n\n--preserve-root[=all]\ndo not remove '/' (default); with 'all', reject any command line argument on a sepa‐\nrate device from its parent\n",
"long": "--no-preserve-root"
},
{
"name": "-r -R --recursive",
"content": "remove directories and their contents recursively\n",
"flag": "-R",
"long": "--recursive"
},
{
"name": "-d --dir",
"content": "remove empty directories\n",
"flag": "-d",
"long": "--dir"
},
{
"name": "-v --verbose",
"content": "explain what is being done\n\n--help display this help and exit\n",
"flag": "-v",
"long": "--verbose"
},
{
"name": "--version",
"content": "output version information and exit\n\nBy default, rm does not remove directories. Use the --recursive (-r or -R) option to remove\neach listed directory, too, along with all of its contents.\n\nTo remove a file whose name starts with a '-', for example '-foo', use one of these commands:\n\nrm -- -foo\n\nrm ./-foo\n\nNote that if you use rm to remove a file, it might be possible to recover some of its con‐\ntents, given sufficient expertise and/or time. For greater assurance that the contents are\ntruly unrecoverable, consider using shred.\n",
"long": "--version"
}
]
},
"AUTHOR": {
"content": "Written by Paul Rubin, David MacKenzie, Richard M. Stallman, and Jim Meyering.\n",
"subsections": []
},
"REPORTING BUGS": {
"content": "GNU coreutils online help: \nReport any translation bugs to \n",
"subsections": []
},
"COPYRIGHT": {
"content": "Copyright © 2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later\n.\nThis is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to\nthe extent permitted by law.\n",
"subsections": []
},
"SEE ALSO": {
"content": "unlink(1), unlink(2), chattr(1), shred(1)\n\nFull documentation \nor available locally via: info '(coreutils) rm invocation'\n\n\n\nGNU coreutils 8.32 January 2026 RM(1)",
"subsections": []
}
}
}
}