rm

Delete files, or whole folders with -r. There is no recycle bin: learn it safely here.

>_ Try it: a simulated Linux, right herenothing runs on your computer

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Examples

rm todo.bak delete a file
ls it is gone
rm -v todo.txt delete one more, saying so
rm -r old a folder with folders inside
rm -f not-there.txt no error for a file that isn't there
ls nothing is left

How it works

rm FILE deletes a file. There is no recycle bin on a Linux server: once it is gone, it is gone.

A folder needs -r (recursive), which deletes it with everything inside. -f (force) never asks and doesn't complain about files that aren't there, which is why rm -rf deserves a second look before you press Enter.

Syntax

rm [OPTION]... FILE...

Options

Option	What it does
`-r`	delete folders and everything inside them
`-f`	ignore missing files, never ask
`-v`	say what was deleted

Good to know

Run ls with the same name first: whatever ls lists is what rm will delete.
An empty folder can go with rmdir, which refuses to delete anything that isn't empty: a safer habit.