How to Delete Files and Directories in Linux

Deleting unnecessary files and directories is required to keep your system organized and to save disk space. You can use the rm and rmdir commands to delete files and directories in Linux and other Unix-like operating systems.

In this guide, we learn how to delete files and directories in Linux using the command line.

Remove Files in Linux

Use the rm or unlink command to delete a file in Linux. These commands unlink the files from the file name and thus make the disk space, occupied by these files, available for further use. Once you delete a file, they are removed from your computer and you cannot restore them.

The following table describes some of the most commonly used command-line utilities to remove files in Linux:

The unlink command can be used to delete a single file in one command, but the rm command can be used to remove multiple files in a single command.

Remove Directories in Linux

Use the rm and rmdir commands to delete directories in Linux. A directory can be either an empty directory or may contain files and other directories:

• rmdir command - remove only the empty directories.
• rm -d command - remove a directory along with the sub-directories and the files in the given directory.

The following table describes some of the most commonly used command-line utilities to remove directories in Linux:

Remove Files Examples

You can delete files in Linux in different ways using the rm command. The following examples show you the most common ways to delete files:

To delete a single file, specify the file name after the rm command:

rm file.txt

To delete multiple files in a single command, specify the list of file names after the rm command:

rm file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt

To delete all the files that have .png file extension:

rm *.png

To delete all the files that have only one character in the extension:

rm *.?

Use the -i option to confirm before deleting a file:

rm -i filename

If you do not want to confirm deleting a file, even the write-protected file, then use the rm -f command.

Remove Directories Examples

Deleting a directory is different from deleting a file. It matters if a directory is empty or not. The following examples show you how to delete directories using different command options:

To delete an empty directory, use the rmdir command followed by the directory name:

rmdir dir2

If the directory is not empty, you will get an error stating that the directory is not empty. You can use the rm command to delete a non-empty directory.

When the rm command is used without any option, it can delete only a file. Use the rm -r command (recursive action) to remove a directory and its subdirectories, and all files they contain.

rm -r dir1

You can also use the rm command to remove multiple directories at once in a single command:

rm -r dir3 dir4

To delete directories and all files without prompting, use rm -rf command. Should be very careful running this command because there is a chance of accidentally removing the wrong directory.

rm -rf dir5

The rm command for directories also supports wildcards and can be used in a similar fashion as used for the files.

Related Read: Removing Directories in Linux: A Easy Guide

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we explained how to delete files and directories using rm and rmdir. We suggest that you always check the file or directory before deleting it. It is a permanent operation that cannot be undone.

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