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rm deletes files immediately. There is no recycle bin on the command line, so this lab practises the habits that keep you safe.
This lab is the hands-on companion to the rm (Remove) lesson from Linux Journey (CC BY-SA 4.0).
rm file1
ls
Before deleting with a wildcard, run ls with the same pattern to see exactly what would go:
ls *.tmp
rm *.tmp
keep.txt must survive.
-i asks for confirmation for every file. Answer n to keep it:
rm -i important.txt
rm: remove regular file 'important.txt'? n
rmdir removes only empty directories. rm -r removes a directory and everything in it, so check what's inside first:
rmdir emptydir
ls -R oldproject
rm -r oldproject
rm file deletes immediately; there is no undo.ls before rm.rm -i asks before each deletion.rmdir removes empty directories; rm -r removes a directory tree.