RM(1)
NAME
rm, rmdir − remove (unlink) files or directories
SYNTAX
rm [ −f ] [ −r ] [ −i ] [ − ] file ...
rmdir dir ...
DESCRIPTION
Rm removes the entries for one or more files from a directory. If an entry was the last link to the file, the file is destroyed. Removal of a file requires write permission in its directory, but neither read nor write permission on the file itself.
If a file has no write permission and the standard input is a terminal, its permissions are printed and a line is read from the standard input. If that line begins with ‘y’ the file is deleted, otherwise the file remains. When the −f (force) option is specified, no questions are asked, and only system or usage messages are displayed.
If a designated file is a directory, an error comment is printed unless the optional argument −r has been used. In that case, rm recursively deletes the entire contents of the specified directory, and the directory itself.
If the −i (interactive) option is in effect, rm asks whether to delete each file, and, under −r, whether to examine each directory.
The null option − indicates that all the arguments following it are to be treated as file names. This allows the specification of file names starting with a minus.
Rmdir removes entries for the named directories, which must be empty.