Removing folder in linux

How do I force delete a directory in Linux?

How to force delete a directory in Linux

Here is how to forcefully delete a folder in Linux:

1. Open the terminal application on Linux.
2. The rmdir command removes empty directories only. Hence you need to use the rm command to remove files on Linux.
3. Type the command rm -rf dirname to delete a directory forcefully.
4. Verify it with the help of ls command on Linux.

Removing a directory that contains other files or directories

The syntax is as following for deleting a directory:
rm -rf dirName
Say you have a directory named /tmp/data/ that contains two files and one directory as follows:
ls -l /tmp/data/
If you run the rmdir command, you will get an error as follows:
rmdir /tmp/data/
As explained earlier rmdir only delete the DIRECTORIES, if they are empty. Therefore you must use the rm command to remove a full directory in Linux:
rm -rf /tmp/data/
Verify it:
ls -l /tmp/data/

Use rm command to delete a non-empty directory in Linux terminal

How do I remove a full directory in Linux with verbose output?

Pass the -v option to the rm command as follows:
rm -rfv dirname
For example, delete a full directory named /tmp/bar in Linux and note down the output on the screen:
rm -rfv /tmp/bar/

Where,

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• -r : Recursive delete
• -f : Force delete a directory
• -v : Verbose output

Delete a non-empty directory in Linux terminal

In case if you don’t have the permission to delete the folder run rm command as a root user. Otherwise, you will see permission denied message on the screen. Therefore to avoid that prefix sudo at the beginning of the rm command :
sudo rm -rf dirName
OR
sudo rm -rf /somedir/
To remove a folder whose name starts with a ‘ — ‘, for example ‘-backups’, use one of these commands:
rm -rfv — -backups/
OR
rm -rfv ./-bacups/

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How to Delete Files and Folders in Linux

Linux command line fundamentals are absolutely essential for every future system administrator and advanced Linux user. Today we’ll cover another basic function – deleting files and directories in Linux using the command line.

The rmdir Command

The command used to delete empty directories in Linux is rmdir.

The basic syntax of this command is easy to grasp. here’s an example:

• rmdir is the command
• [option] is an optional modifier that changes the way the command behaves
• DirectoryName is the directory you want removed

If no option is provided, rmdir simply deletes the directory whose name is provided as the destination. Before using this command, you’ll have to log into your VPS server using SSH. Here’s an article to help you out.

Remove Folders in Linux Using the rmdir Command

Before using the rmdir command we suggest you check the files present in a directory with the ls command. In our case, we have a directory named Dir1.

This command will delete the empty directory named Dir1. Simple enough, right?

You can also delete multiple directories by separating their names by spaces. For instance:

After executing this command, the directories named Dir1, Dir2 and Dir3 will be deleted.

Let say we have a directory named Dir3. Dir3 has subdirectories and files inside of it. Now if we use following command:

We will receive an error like this:

As you may have guessed from the output, rmdir only works with empty directories.

The rmdir is a smart utility, and only allows you to delete empty directories as a built-in safeguard to prevent accidental loss of data. Remember it’s almost impossible to recover deleted data on any Linux distribution.

The -p option lets you delete the directory as well as its parent directories.

This above command will delete Dir3 and its parent directories Dir2 and Dir1.

The -v option outputs a diagnostic text for every directory processed. Using this option will output a confirmation listing all the directories that were deleted.

The rm Command

The rmdir command is great for safely removing unused and empty directories. If you want to remove files or directories containing files, you would have to use the rm command.

The basic syntax of this command is similar to rmdir:

Remove Files in Linux Using the rm Command

Use the rm command to remove the file named article.txt:

If we have a directory with the name Dir1 containing subdirectories and files we will have to attach the -r modifier. The command would look like this:

The -r option recursively removes directories and their content.

Another helpful option is -i. This will ask you to confirm the files that will be deleted individually. That way you can avoid any unpleasant mistakes.

You can also delete empty directories using -d option. The following command will delete an empty directory with name Dir1:

You can use a wildcard (*) and a regular expansions to match multiple files. For instance, the following command will delete all pdf files placed in the current directory.

You can use variation of all the commands listed above to delete files with other extensions like .txt, .doc, .odt, etc.

The -f option lets you forcefully delete everything placed in a directory. The command would look like this:

The above command will delete everything recursively and forcefully, residing under the Dir1 directory without prompting anything on the terminal.

You can also delete more than one directory at a time. The following command will delete three directories Dir1, Dir2 and Dir3 in a single command.

Congratulations, you successfully mastered all the basic functions of the rm and rmdir commands!

Wrap Up

In Linux deleting a single file by accident can lead to major issues. That’s why it’s essential to master the two main commands for file and directory removal – rm and rmdir. In this article we cover these two commands and the various options that can be used with them.

We hope you found this article useful! Remember, once you delete a file or directory from Linux, you can’t recover it, so be extra careful! Good luck.

Edward is an expert communicator with years of experience in IT as a writer, marketer, and Linux enthusiast. IT is a core pillar of his life, personal and professional. Edward’s goal is to encourage millions to achieve an impactful online presence. He also really loves dogs, guitars, and everything related to space.

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Linux Delete All Files In Directory Using Command Line

Linux Delete All Files In Directory

The procedure to remove all files from a directory:

1. Open the terminal application
2. To delete everything in a directory run: rm /path/to/dir/*
3. To remove all sub-directories and files: rm -r /path/to/dir/*

Let us see some examples of rm command to delete all files in a directory when using Linux operating systems.

How to remove all the files in a directory?

Suppose you have a directory called /home/vivek/data/. To list files type the ls command:
$ ls

Understanding rm command option that deleted all files in a directory

• -r : Remove directories and their contents recursively.
• -f : Force option. In other words, ignore nonexistent files and arguments, never prompt. Dangerous option. Be careful.
• -v : Verbose option. Show what rm is doing on screen.

Deleting hidden vs non-hidden files

In Linux, any file or directory that starts with a dot character called a dot file. It is to be treated as hidden file. To see hidden files pass the -a to the ls command:
ls
ls -a
ls -la
To remove all files except hidden files in a directory use:
rm /path/to/dir/*
rm -rf /path/to/dir/*
rm *
In this example, delete all files including hidden files, run:
rm -rf /path/to/dir1/<*,.*>
rm -rfv /path/to/dir1/

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Bash remove all files from a directory including hidden files using the dotglob option

If the dotglob option set, bash includes filenames beginning with a ‘.’ in the results of pathname expansion. In other words, turn on this option to delete hidden files:

See GNU/bash man page for the shopt command online here:
man bash
help shopt

Linux Remove All Files In Directory

As I said earlier one can use the unlink command too. The syntax is:
unlink filename
For example, delete file named foo.txt in the current working directory, enter:
unlink foo.txt
It can only delete a single file at a time. You can not pass multiple files or use wildcards such as *. Therefore, I strongly recommend you use the rm command as discussed above.

Conclusion

In this quick tutorial, you learned how to remove or delete all the files in a directory using the rm command. Linux offers a few more options to find and delete files. Please see the following tutorials:

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Linux Delete Folder Recursively Command

rm command syntax to delete directories recursively

The syntax is as follows:

Tutorial details
Difficulty level	Easy
Root privileges	No
Requirements	None
Est. reading time	2m

rm -r dirName
## OR ##
rm -r folderName
## OR ##
rm -rf folderName

Did you know?
Everything is a file in Linux and Unix-like systems. In other words, your pictures, documents, directories/folders, SSD/hard-drives, NIC, USB devices, keyboards, printers, and some network communications all are files.

Examples that examples how to delete folder recursively

In this example, recursively delete data folder in the current home directory:

The specified /home/vivek/data/ will first be emptied of any subdirectories including their subdirectories and files and then data directory removed. The user is prompted for removal of any write-protected files in the directories unless the -f (force) option is given on command line:

To remove a folder whose name starts with a — , for example ‘ —dsaatia ‘, use one of these commands:

We can add the -v option to see verbose outputs. In other words, the rm command will explain what is being done to our files and folders on Linux. For instance:
rm -rfv /path/to/dir1
rm -r -f -v /home/vivek/oldpartpics

Removing folders with names containing strange characters

Your folders and files may have while spaces, semicolons, backslashes and other chracters in Linux. For example:
ls -l
Let us say we have a folder named “ Our Sales Data ” and “ baddir# ” or “ dir2 ;# “. So how do we delete those directories with special names containing strange characters? The answer is simple. We try to enclose our troublesome filename or folder name in quotes. For example:
rm ‘Our Sales Data’
rm -rfv ‘/path/to/Dir 1 ;’
rm -r -f -v «baddir#»
rm a\ long \dir1 \name

Sometimes, we need insert a backslash ( \ ) before the meta-character in your filename or folder name:
rm \$dir1

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Deleting folder recursively command summary

rm command options for removing dirs/folders recursively

Command and options	Description
-f	Forceful option. Ignore nonexistent files and arguments, never prompt
-r	remove directories and their contents recursively
-v	Verbose output
rm — ‘-dir1’	Remove a dir/file whoes name start with a ‘ — ‘
rm ./-dir1	Same as above
rm -rfv ‘dir name here’	Enclose your troublesome filename/folder in quotes
rm -rfv \$dirname1	Same as above

See Linux rm(1) command man page or rm command example page for more information:
man rm
rm —help

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