{
"mode": "man",
"parameter": "shred",
"section": "1",
"url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/shred/1/json",
"generated": "2026-05-30T06:06:08Z",
"synopsis": "shred [OPTION]... FILE...",
"sections": {
"NAME": {
"content": "shred - overwrite a file to hide its contents, and optionally delete it\n",
"subsections": []
},
"SYNOPSIS": {
"content": "shred [OPTION]... FILE...\n",
"subsections": []
},
"DESCRIPTION": {
"content": "Overwrite the specified FILE(s) repeatedly, in order to make it harder for even very expen‐\nsive hardware probing to recover the data.\n\nIf FILE is -, shred standard output.\n\nMandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.\n",
"subsections": [
{
"name": "-f --force",
"content": "change permissions to allow writing if necessary\n",
"flag": "-f",
"long": "--force"
},
{
"name": "-n --iterations",
"content": "overwrite N times instead of the default (3)\n\n--random-source=FILE\nget random bytes from FILE\n",
"flag": "-n",
"long": "--iterations"
},
{
"name": "-s --size",
"content": "shred this many bytes (suffixes like K, M, G accepted)\n",
"flag": "-s",
"long": "--size"
},
{
"name": "-u",
"content": "--remove[=HOW]\nlike -u but give control on HOW to delete; See below\n",
"flag": "-u"
},
{
"name": "-v --verbose",
"content": "show progress\n",
"flag": "-v",
"long": "--verbose"
},
{
"name": "-x --exact",
"content": "do not round file sizes up to the next full block;\n\nthis is the default for non-regular files\n",
"flag": "-x",
"long": "--exact"
},
{
"name": "-z --zero",
"content": "add a final overwrite with zeros to hide shredding\n\n--help display this help and exit\n",
"flag": "-z",
"long": "--zero"
},
{
"name": "--version",
"content": "output version information and exit\n\nDelete FILE(s) if --remove (-u) is specified. The default is not to remove the files because\nit is common to operate on device files like /dev/hda, and those files usually should not be\nremoved. The optional HOW parameter indicates how to remove a directory entry: 'unlink' =>\nuse a standard unlink call. 'wipe' => also first obfuscate bytes in the name. 'wipesync' =>\nalso sync each obfuscated byte to disk. The default mode is 'wipesync', but note it can be\nexpensive.\n\nCAUTION: shred assumes the file system and hardware overwrite data in place. Although this\nis common, many platforms operate otherwise. Also, backups and mirrors may contain unremov‐\nable copies that will let a shredded file be recovered later. See the GNU coreutils manual\nfor details.\n",
"long": "--version"
}
]
},
"AUTHOR": {
"content": "Written by Colin Plumb.\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": "Full documentation \nor available locally via: info '(coreutils) shred invocation'\n\n\n\nGNU coreutils 8.32 January 2026 SHRED(1)",
"subsections": []
}
},
"summary": "shred - overwrite a file to hide its contents, and optionally delete it",
"flags": [
{
"flag": "-f",
"long": "--force",
"arg": null,
"description": "change permissions to allow writing if necessary"
},
{
"flag": "-n",
"long": "--iterations",
"arg": null,
"description": "overwrite N times instead of the default (3) --random-source=FILE get random bytes from FILE"
},
{
"flag": "-s",
"long": "--size",
"arg": null,
"description": "shred this many bytes (suffixes like K, M, G accepted)"
},
{
"flag": "-u",
"long": null,
"arg": null,
"description": "--remove[=HOW] like -u but give control on HOW to delete; See below"
},
{
"flag": "-v",
"long": "--verbose",
"arg": null,
"description": "show progress"
},
{
"flag": "-x",
"long": "--exact",
"arg": null,
"description": "do not round file sizes up to the next full block; this is the default for non-regular files"
},
{
"flag": "-z",
"long": "--zero",
"arg": null,
"description": "add a final overwrite with zeros to hide shredding --help display this help and exit"
},
{
"flag": "",
"long": "--version",
"arg": null,
"description": "output version information and exit Delete FILE(s) if --remove (-u) is specified. The default is not to remove the files because it is common to operate on device files like /dev/hda, and those files usually should not be removed. The optional HOW parameter indicates how to remove a directory entry: 'unlink' => use a standard unlink call. 'wipe' => also first obfuscate bytes in the name. 'wipesync' => also sync each obfuscated byte to disk. The default mode is 'wipesync', but note it can be expensive. CAUTION: shred assumes the file system and hardware overwrite data in place. Although this is common, many platforms operate otherwise. Also, backups and mirrors may contain unremov‐ able copies that will let a shredded file be recovered later. See the GNU coreutils manual for details."
}
],
"examples": [],
"see_also": []
}