rmdir(C)                        19 June 1992                        rmdir(C)


 Name

    rmdir - remove directories

 Syntax

    rmdir [ -p ] [ -s ] dirname ...

 Description

    The rmdir command removes the entries for one or more sub-directories
    from a directory.  A directory must be empty before it can be removed.
    (Note that the rm -r dir command is a more dangerous alternative to
    rmdir.)  If the parent directory has the ``sticky'' bit set, removal
    occurs only if one of the following is true:

    +  the parent directory is owned by the user

    +  the dirname directory is owned by the user

    +  the dirname directory is writable to the user

    +  the user is the super user

    The -p option allows users to remove the directory dirname and its parent
    directories which become empty.  A message is printed on standard output
    as to whether the whole path is removed or part of the path remains for
    some reason.

    The -s option is used to suppress the message printed on standard error
    when -p is in effect.

    rmdir will refuse to remove the root directory of a mounted filesystem.

 See also

    rm(C)

 Diagnostics

    rmdir returns an exit code of 0 if all the specified directories are
    removed successfully.  Otherwise, it returns a non-zero exit code.

 Standards conformance

    rmdir is conformant with:

    AT&T SVID Issue 2.