If mydir exists, and is an empty directory, it will be removed. If the directory is not empty or you do not have permission to delete it, you will see an error message. To remove a directory that is not empty, use the rm command with the -r option for recursive deletion. Be very careful with this command, because using the rm -r command will delete not only everything in the named directory, but also everything in its subdirectories. If you don't use this command very cautiously, you risk deleting all or most of your files.
If the subdirectory mydir exists in your current directory and it is not empty, you can delete it by entering at the Unix prompt:. For more information on the rmdir and the rm -r commands, see their man pages. At the Unix prompt, enter:. This is document abet in the Knowledge Base. Last modified on Skip to: content search login.
To gain an understanding of the directory structure and the files that will be deleted by the rm -rf command, use the tree command. Running the tree command produces a simple to understand diagram of the directory structure and files beneath the directory from which it is run.
You can also supply a path to the tree command to cause it to start the tree from another directory in the file system. The rm command also has --one-file-system, --no-preserve-root, --preserve-root options, but those are only recommended for advanced users.
If you get something wrong, you could accidentally delete all your system files. There is another command, called rmdir , that you can use to delete directories. The difference between rm and rmdir is that rmdir can only delete directories that are empty. It will never delete files. The simplest case is deleting a single empty directory. As with rm , you can pass multiple directory names to rmdir , or a path to a directory.
If you try to delete a folder that is not empty, rmdir will give you an error message. In the following example rmdir successfully, and silently, deletes the clients directory but it refuses to delete the projects directory because it contains files.
The projects directory is left exactly as it was and the files in it are untouched. You can force it to ignore these errors with the --ignore-fail-on-non-empty option so that other directories are processed.
The --ignore-fail-on-non-empty option has been included in the command. This is an empty folder, and rmdir deletes it. You can use the -p parents option to delete a directory and to delete its parent directories too.
This trick works because rmdir starts with the target directory and then back-steps to the parent. That directory should now be empty, so it can be deleted by rmdir , and the process repeats stepping back up the path that was provided to rmdir. Some people prefer to have a workflow that revolves around the terminal. Others may have no choice in the matter. They may be working on servers without a GUI installed or on a remote session onto a headless system such as a Raspberry Pi.
These commands are perfect for that group of people. But whatever type of workflow you prefer, these commands lend themselves very well to being included in shell scripts. If a script is triggered by a cron job, it can help automate routine housekeeping tasks such as purging unwanted log files. If you investigate that use case, remember the power of these commands, test everything carefully, and always maintain a recent backup. Use Google Fonts in Word.
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