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Posts: 515 | Thanked: 266 times | Joined on Nov 2009 @ Oelsted, Denmark
#10
Actually -rf means recursive + force so You shouldn't use it losely...

If You run an rm -rf in the wrong place it will remove the directory and everything below it...

An rm -rf / for example is a very bad idea...

If unsure You might want to add the i option (-rfi). This way it will prompt You before removing anything...

Output of rm --help:
Code:
Usage: rm [OPTION]... FILE...
Remove (unlink) the FILE(s).

  -f, --force           ignore nonexistent files, never prompt
  -i                    prompt before every removal
  -I                    prompt once before removing more than three files, or
                          when removing recursively.  Less intrusive than -i,
                          while still giving protection against most mistakes
      --interactive[=WHEN]  prompt according to WHEN: never, once (-I), or
                          always (-i).  Without WHEN, prompt always
      --one-file-system  when removing a hierarchy recursively, skip any
                          directory that is on a file system different from
                          that of the corresponding command line argument
      --no-preserve-root  do not treat `/' specially
      --preserve-root   do not remove `/' (default)
  -r, -R, --recursive   remove directories and their contents recursively
  -v, --verbose         explain what is being done
      --help     display this help and exit
      --version  output version information and exit

By default, rm does not remove directories.  Use the --recursive (-r or -R)
option to remove each listed directory, too, along with all of its contents.

To remove a file whose name starts with a `-', for example `-foo',
use one of these commands:
  rm -- -foo

  rm ./-foo

Note that if you use rm to remove a file, it is usually possible to recover
the contents of that file.  If you want more assurance that the contents are
truly unrecoverable, consider using shred.

Report rm bugs to bug-coreutils@gnu.org
GNU coreutils home page: <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
General help using GNU software: <http://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>
Report rm translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>
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Christian Wilken - tux-POWER.dk!
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