Can't remove a linux directory using linux terminal [duplicate] - linux

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Delete folder that contain subfolders and files on linux
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I've been trying to remove an unwanted file: 'PycharmProjects' but I can't seem to be able to do it. Every time I use the rm command (as in rm filename) the linux terminals says this: rm: cannot remove 'PycharmProjects': Is a directory. I've also tried trying to just unistall it from files but every time I do that an error occurs. Could you please help me.
NOTE: I use chromebook


If linux says that is a directory please try to run
rm -d filename
and if not worked try next command
rm -r dirname
here also is an article about deleting files and directories in linux command line:
https://linuxize.com/post/how-to-remove-files-and-directories-using-linux-command-line/


you would try
rm -rf "name_directory"
with rm you will use the remove command; with -r you will select anything on specified directory; and with -f you will force, omiting any rule or barrier of security so you must be careful because a rm -rf command could delete any important data from your disc so you will need admin permissions to execute that command but you will discover could be useful sometimes.
P.D. when you need help with any command you can use the man command that will show you a manual for the command selected for example in this case you can write
man rm
that will show you all the options that you can do with that command depending to the command you also can find information like the developer of the command; common structures and more interesting information.
normally the man command come preinstall in the popular distrubutions but if you type "man" and it isn´t work you could search on internet how to install the man on your linux distribution
have a nice day and welcome to linux :)


Generally, rmdir is the correct way to remove a directory in Linux (and mkdir to create a directory). If your directly is not empty, then rmdir won't remote it.
The command rm -rf <dirname> (where "dirname" is your directory's name) is the less safe way to remove a directory and all of its contents. Only use it if you're sure that the directory doesn't contain information you want to preserve. Remember the rm and rmdir commands don't put anything in a "Recycle Bin" or similar!

Related

Is there a way to remove file with substitutions in name in linux?

Let's say I have directory with files: log[1-3], log1, log2, log3. I want to type a command and remove file log[1-3]. How it can be done?.
Yes I know, that I can type rm -i log* and then choose file that I wanted to remove, but it is not appropriate for me, because in this directory can be many files begins with log.
So, i need a way to do this with just one command.

I found way to do this. You just need to type rm 'log[1-3]'. With a single quotes
Thank you CamilCuk

There seem to be two ways to do this:
rm log\[1-3\]
rm 'log[1-3]'
rm log\[1-3\] is a result of rm log ESCESC
rm 'log[1-3]' is a result of ls -ltra.

How to create a shell script

I am trying to create a shell script to remove certain files from a directory. How would I be able to achieve this?
Can I write the standard commands in a script as follows:
#!/bin/sh
rm -f /directory/of/file/file1.txt
rm -f /directory/of/file/file2.txt
rm -f /directory/of/file/file3.txt
rm -f /directory/of/file/file4.txt
Or is there a specific way to delete files in a shell script.
This is my first question here, so please bear with me as I do not know all the rules.
Thanks in advance :)
Edit:
Thanks for all the answers in a short matter of time, I really appreciate it.
Forgot to mention this will executed by root cron (crontab -e) every Tuesday and Friday # 5PM.
Do I still need to chmod +x the file if root is executing the file?

Your question can split into a few points:
You can use those commands to delete the specific files (if you have the permissions)
Make sure you add running permissions to the shell script file (that is used to perform the rm commands) by using: chmod +x file_name.sh
In order to delete the folder contents and not the folder itself the command should be: rm -r /path/to/dir/*

Yes you can. However if you don't have the permission to delete the files then you may get error on the statement. Try to handle that error and you are good to go

What is the meaning of the rm -fv command?? using it for csf installation

I want to know what exactly the following command means ??
rm -fv csf.tgz
I'm typing this command as the first step for installing csf on my virtualmin, but I dont know the exact meaning. I just now copied and pasted it.

rm -rf / – Deletes Everything!
Never use this command in your Linux computer because it deletes every file in your system.
sudo - sudo (Super User DO) is generally used as a prefix of some command that only superuser are allowed to run.
rm – Remove the following files.
-rf – Run rm recursively (delete all files and folders inside the specified folder) and force-remove all files without prompting you.
/ – Tells rm to start at the root directory, which contains all the files on your computer and all mounted media devices, including remote file shares and removable drives.

I can't delete files like "#test.cpp#~" in terminal

I'm using Ubuntu linux. I have a file #test.cpp#~ and when I try to run the following command in the terminal:
rm #test.cpp#~
all I get is:
rm: missing operand
Can someone tell me what's happening? I think the file is an autosave but I don't know how to delete it.

~ and # have special meaning in shell environment. User quotes:
rm "#test.cpp#~"

you need to escape the # try the following:
rm \#test.cpp\#~
you may need to do
rm \#test.cpp\#\~

Remove a symlink to a directory

I have a symlink to an important directory. I want to get rid of that symlink, while keeping the directory behind it.
I tried rm and get back rm: cannot remove 'foo'.
I tried rmdir and got back rmdir: failed to remove 'foo': Directory not empty
I then progressed through rm -f, rm -rf and sudo rm -rf
Then I went to find my back-ups.
Is there a way to get rid of the symlink with out throwing away the baby with the bathwater?

# this works:
rm foo
# versus this, which doesn't:
rm foo/
Basically, you need to tell it to delete a file, not delete a directory. I believe the difference between rm and rmdir exists because of differences in the way the C library treats each.
At any rate, the first should work, while the second should complain about foo being a directory.
If it doesn't work as above, then check your permissions. You need write permission to the containing directory to remove files.

use the "unlink" command and make sure not to have the / at the end
$ unlink mySymLink
unlink() deletes a name from the file system. If that name was the last link to a file and no processes have the file open the file is deleted and the space it was using is made available for reuse.
If the name was the last link to a file but any processes still have the file open the file will remain in existence until the last file descriptor referring to it is closed.
I think this may be problematic if I'm reading it correctly.
If the name referred to a symbolic link the link is removed.
If the name referred to a socket, fifo or device the name for it is removed but processes which have the object open may continue to use it.
https://linux.die.net/man/2/unlink

rm should remove the symbolic link.
skrall#skrall-desktop:~$ mkdir bar
skrall#skrall-desktop:~$ ln -s bar foo
skrall#skrall-desktop:~$ ls -l foo
lrwxrwxrwx 1 skrall skrall 3 2008-10-16 16:22 foo -> bar
skrall#skrall-desktop:~$ rm foo
skrall#skrall-desktop:~$ ls -l foo
ls: cannot access foo: No such file or directory
skrall#skrall-desktop:~$ ls -l bar
total 0
skrall#skrall-desktop:~$

Use rm symlinkname but do not include a forward slash at the end (do not use: rm symlinkname/). You will then be asked if you want to remove the symlink, y to answer yes.

Assuming it actually is a symlink,
$ rm -d symlink
It should figure it out, but since it can't we enable the latent code that was intended for another case that no longer exists but happens to do the right thing here.

If rm cannot remove a symlink, perhaps you need to look at the permissions on the directory that contains the symlink. To remove directory entries, you need write permission on the containing directory.

Assuming your setup is something like: ln -s /mnt/bar ~/foo, then you should be able to do a rm foo with no problem. If you can't, make sure you are the owner of the foo and have permission to write/execute the file. Removing foo will not touch bar, unless you do it recursively.

I also had the same problem. So I suggest to try unlink <absolute path>.
For example unlink ~/<USER>/<SOME OTHER DIRECTORY>/foo.

On CentOS, just run rm linkname and it will ask to "remove symbolic link?". Type Y and Enter, the link will be gone and the directory be safe.

I had this problem with MinGW (actually Git Bash) running on a Windows Server. None of the above suggestions seemed to work. In the end a made a copy of the directory in case then deleted the soft link in Windows Explorer then deleted the item in the Recycle Bin. It made noises like it was deleting the files but didn't. Do make a backup though!

you can use unlink in the folder where you have created your symlink

If rm cannot remove a link, perhaps you need to look at the permissions on the directory that contains the link. To remove directory entries, you need write permission on the containing directory.

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