Remove directory linux with contents

How do I remove a directory and all its contents?

The following command will do it for you. Use caution though if this isn’t your intention as this also removes files in the directory and subdirectories.

«-f» is «—force» which overrides some sanity checks and prompting. A safer command to start with would be rm -r directoryname .

@JimParis I think the word «safer» is relative. Suppose you are writing a script to run on a remote computer. That script has a command which is supposed to remove a directory. Here, it would be «safer» to use rm -rf directoryname coz you wouldn’t want your script to pause execution, because it’s waiting for user input. Of course, you have to be sure that deleting the directory would do no harm.

if rm -rf directoryname fails you, try using rm -R -f directoryname , or rm —recursive -f directoryname .

If you are not having any luck with these, you should consider reinstalling rm or switching shells.

These were the options available on my rm man page, I looked it up by typing man rm to view my options on recursive deletion and the force options.

Does your rm man page list -r ? What does it do? (Try it in a directory that you create just for testing purposes, with only dummy files (and maybe subdirectories) in it.) What operating system are you using?

P.S. If rm -r doesn’t work, that would be an OS issue, not a shell issue. (Strictly speaking, it would be an issue with the version of rm that you’re using, so you could address it by installing a different version of rm , or searching your system to see whether you already have a different version of rm in some directory other than /bin .)

Ah, right. I forgot to mention I’m on Ubuntu 14.04 When I ran man rm in my terminal, it gave me a text file with the less text viewer. I scrolled found an indented entry with a whole that had the -R and —recursive options cozied up with the -r option, signifying that all of those arguments are identical.

edit: have you tried sudo rm -r directoryName ? The unwritten rules of the basic commands is that -r will allow a program to run recursively on every file your filesystem (starting where ever you choose!) and that -f will forcefully do things, even if it’s dangerous. ‘cd’, ‘mv’, ‘ls’ mostly holds this principle true. ls -r / is gonna be a duzie, and cp -rf / /dev/null will destroy everything on your filesystem.

Other answers show how to completely remove a directory’s content, but IMO they don’t address the literal question of the original post — that is, how can one delete subdirectories (as opposed to usual files). In other words, how can one delete empty directory structures while keeping subdirectories containing files ?

This can be achieved with find :

find directoryname -type d -delete 

This command will recursively search for directories ( -type d ) through directoryname and -delete them only if their subdirectories or themselves don’t contain any files.

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How to Safely Remove a Directory with Its Contents in Linux: Step-by-Step Guide

Learn how to safely remove a directory with its contents in Linux using rm or rmdir command. Follow our step-by-step guide and helpful tips to avoid accidental deletion of important files. Get started now!

• Using the rm command
• Using the rmdir command
• How to Delete Files and Directories in the Linux Terminal
• Permanently removing a directory
• Using the find command
• Helpful tips
• Other quick code examples for removing a directory with its contents in Linux
• Conclusion
• How do I delete a directory and all its contents in Linux?
• Can you delete a directory with files in Linux?
• How do you delete a directory and its all contents in terminal?
• How do I delete a directory that is not empty in Linux?

If you are new to Linux, you may find it challenging to remove directories with their contents. It’s essential to learn how to do it safely to avoid accidentally deleting important files. In this guide, we’ll provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to remove a directory with its contents in Linux using the rm and rmdir commands.

Using the rm command

The rm command is used to remove files and directories in linux . To remove a directory and all its contents, use the -r flag with the rm command. Here’s how it works:

This command will remove the specified directory and all its contents. Be careful when using the rm command as it can delete files indiscriminately. You should always double-check the name of the directory before attempting to remove it.

The rm command can also be used to remove files interactively using the -i flag. This flag prompts the user for confirmation before deleting each file. Here’s an example:

The -v flag can be used to display the progress of deletion. This flag is useful when you want to keep track of the deletion process. Here’s an example:

Using the rmdir command

The rmdir command is used to remove empty directories in Linux. Here’s how it works:

This command will remove the specified empty directory. If the directory is not empty, the rmdir command will fail and return an error. In such cases, you should use the rm command with the -r flag to remove directories with contents.

How to Delete Files and Directories in the Linux Terminal

Permanently removing a directory

To permanently remove a directory in Linux, use the rm command with the -rf flags. Here’s how it works:

This command will forcefully remove the directory and all its contents without prompting for confirmation. Be cautious when using the rm command with the -rf flags, as it can permanently delete files and directories without the possibility of recovery.

Using the find command

The find command is used to search for files and directories in Linux. You can use it to delete files from a given directory. Here’s how it works:

find /path/to/directory -type f -delete 

This command will delete all files from the specified directory. Be cautious when using the find command, as it can delete files indiscriminately.

Helpful tips

Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind when removing directories with their contents in Linux:

• Use version control systems like Git to keep track of changes and avoid accidental deletion .
• Always double-check the name of the directory before attempting to remove it.
• Use the -i flag with the rm command to remove files interactively and avoid accidental deletion.
• Use the -v flag with the rm command to display the progress of deletion.
• Use the -P flag with the rm command to follow symbolic links and ensure the correct files are being deleted.
• Use the -i flag with the rmdir command to interactively remove directories and avoid accidental deletion.

Other quick code examples for removing a directory with its contents in Linux

In Shell , for instance, remove a directory code example

# To remove an Empty directory, Use $ sudo rmdir folder-name# If it is not a empty directory, then rm command can be used $ sudo rm -rf folder-name

In Shell as proof, how to remove folder and its contents in linux code example

In Shell as proof, Linux Remove Folder With Content

In Shell case in point, linux remove directory and contents

# EXAMPLE rm -r YourFolderName# SYNTAX # rm [option(s)-if-any] # +---------+------------------------------------------------------------------+ # | OPTIONS | DESCRIPTION | # +---------+------------------------------------------------------------------+ # | -f | Force: ignore nonexistent files, never prompt | # | -i | Interactive: prompt before every removal | # | -I | Interactive: only prompt before removing more than three files | # | -r | Recursive: remove directories and their contents recursively | # | -v | Verbose: explain what is being done | # +---------+------------------------------------------------------------------+

In Shell , for example, remove directory linux with files code example

In Shell case in point, remove directory and contents code sample

In Shell , remove folder and contents linux code sample

# Remove Single File Using rm: rm file1.txt # Remove Directory and it's contents: rm -r dir1 # '-r' is short for '-recursive' # Remove empty Directory: rm -d dir1 # '-d' is short for '-dir'

In Shell , for instance, remove directory and contents linux

In Shell case in point, rm directory linux code sample

To remove an empty directory, use either rmdir or rm -d followed by the directory name: rm -d dirname rmdir dirname. To remove non-empty directories and all the files within them, use the rm command with the -r (recursive) option: rm -r dirname.

In Shell case in point, remove directory in linux code sample

# REMOVE ALL FILES IN LINUX ON CURRENT PATH find . -type f -delete# REMOVE DIRECTORY IN LINUX ON CURRENT PATH find . -type d -delete# REMOVE EVERTHING IN EXISTING PATH find . -delete

Conclusion

Removing a directory with its contents in Linux can be accomplished using either the rm or rmdir command. Exercise caution when using the rm command to avoid accidental deletion of important files. Use helpful tips like version control systems and double-checking the name of the directory to avoid mistakes. By following the tips outlined in this guide, you’ll be able to safely remove directories with their contents in Linux.

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How to delete a non-empty directory in Terminal?

I’m unable to remove a directory like «New Folder» using all the above detailed commands. It’s double worded. But I want to remove that directory. Any suggestions will be welcomed. T.Divakara, Bengaluru, India

Its the blank space in the file name, try using ‘quotes’ > rmdir ‘New Folder’ < then the folder disapers, or use escape characters for non-vissible characters.

4 Answers 4

Use the below command :

It deletes all files and folders contained in the lampp directory.

In case user doesn’t have the permission to delete the folder:

Add sudo at the beginning of the command :

Otherwise, without sudo you will be returned permission denied. And it’s a good practice to try not to use -f while deleting a directory:

Note: this is assuming you are already on the same level of the folder you want to delete in terminal, if not:

sudo rm -r /path/to/folderName 

FYI: you can use letters -f , -r , -v :

• -f = to ignore non-existent files, never prompt
• -r = to remove directories and their contents recursively
• -v = to explain what is being done

In my humble opinion, it’s a good practice never to add the «f» on first attempt. Its purpose is to ignore certain warning prompts that may be important, especially if you’ve accidentally done it on/from the wrong directory. In my opinion it’s good to try without the «f» first, then only if you are encountering a lot of warning prompts and you’re sure it’s OK to ignore them all, Ctrl+C out of it and repeat the command with the «f».

@thomasrutter . Agree. A file «xxx» owner: root and group: root can BE deleted with the -f switch; and without sudo. This is the message without -f: «rm: remove write-protected regular file ‘/home/william/.cache/netbeans/v08.01/tmp/xxx’? _». _Tread gently.

However, you need to be careful with a recursive command like this, as it’s easy to accidentally delete a lot more than you intended.

It is a good idea to always double-check which directory you’re in, and whether you typed the command correctly, before pressing Enter.

Safer version

Adding -i makes it a little safer, because it will prompt you on every deletion. However, if you are deleting many files this is not going to be very practical. Still, you can try this first.

Many people suggest using -f (combining it into -Rf or -rf ), claiming that it gets rid of annoying prompts. However, in normal cases you don’t need it, and using it suppresses some problems that you probably do want to know about. When you use it, you won’t be warned if your arguments supply a non-existing directory or file(s): rm will just silently fail to delete anything. As a general rule, try first without the -f : if there are problems with your arguments, then you’ll notice. If you start getting too many prompts about files without write access, then you can try it with -f . Alternatively, run the command from a user (or the superuser using sudo) that has full permissions to the files and directories you’re deleting to prevent these prompts in the first place.

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