RM(1)                       386BSD Reference Manual                      RM(1)

NAME
     rm - Remove directory entries.

SYNOPSIS
     rm [-f | -i] [-dRr] file ...

DESCRIPTION
     The rm utility attempts to remove the non-directory type files specified
     on the command line.  If the permissions of the file do not permit
     writing, and the standard input device is a terminal, the user is
     prompted (on the standard error output) for confirmation.

     The options are as follows:

     -d    Attempt to remove directories as well as other types of files.

     -f    Attempt to remove the files without prompting for confirmation,
           regardless of the file's permissions.  If the file does not exist,
           do not display a diagnostic message or modify the exit status to
           reflect an error.  The -f option overrides any previous -i options.

     -i    Request confirmation before attempting to remove each file,
           regardless of the file's permissions, or whether or not the
           standard input device is a terminal.  The -i option overrides any
           previous -f options.

     -R    Attempt to remove the file hierarchy rooted in each file argument.
           The -R option implies the -d option.  If the -i option is
           specified, the user is prompted for confirmation before each
           directory's contents are processed (as well as before the attempt
           is made to remove the directory).  If the user does not respond
           affirmatively, the file hierarchy rooted in that directory is
           skipped.

     -r    Equivalent to -R.

     The rm utility removes symbolic links, not the files referenced by the
     links.

     It is an error to attempt to remove the files ``.'' and ``..''.

     The rm utility exits 0 if all of the named files or file hierarchies were
     removed, or if the -f option was specified and all of the existing files
     or file hierarchies were removed.  If an error occurs, rm exits with a
     value >0.

SEE ALSO
     rmdir(1),  unlink(2),  fts(3)

COMPATIBILITY
     The rm utility differs from historical implementations in that the -f
     option only masks attempts to remove non-existent files instead of
     masking a large variety of errors.

     Also, historical BSD UNIX implementations prompted on the standard
     output, not the standard error output.

STANDARDS
     The rm command is expected to be IEEE Std1003.2 (``POSIX'') compatible.

BSD Experimental                 July 27, 1991                               1