rm - Nash

Syntax

rm [OPTIONS] FILE...

Description

The rm command removes (deletes) files and directories from Nash’s virtual filesystem. By default, it only removes files; use the -r flag to remove directories recursively.

Deletion is permanent within the VFS session. Nash doesn’t have a trash/recycle bin. However, since Nash operates in-memory by default, all changes are lost when you exit unless you’re working with --bind mounted directories.

Options

-r

flag

Remove directories and their contents recursively

-rf

flag

Recursive and force (same as -r in Nash)

-R

flag

Recursive (uppercase variant, same as -r)

Parameters

FILE

string

required

One or more files or directories to remove. Supports multiple arguments.

Behavior

Default mode: Removes only files, not directories
Recursive mode: With -r, -rf, or -R, removes directories and all contents
Multiple targets: Can remove multiple files/directories in one command
Unknown flags: Other flags starting with - are silently ignored

Examples

Remove a single file

rm unwanted.txt

Remove multiple files

rm file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt

Remove all files matching a pattern

rm *.log

Remove an empty directory (fails without -r)

mkdir empty_dir
rm empty_dir  # This will fail

Error: Cannot remove directory without -r flag

Remove a directory recursively

rm -r old_project/

Remove directory with all contents

mkdir -p test/nested/deep
touch test/file1.txt test/nested/file2.txt
rm -rf test/

Remove with absolute paths

rm /tmp/temp_file.txt /tmp/cache/

Error Handling

Missing operand

rm

rm: missing operand

Exit code: 1

File doesn’t exist

rm nonexistent.txt

Returns an error from the VFS layer.

Directory without -r flag

rm my_directory/

Fails because directories require the -r flag.

Read-only mounted directory

# If /data is mounted with --bind-ro
rm /data/file.txt

Fails with a permission error from the VFS layer.

Implementation Details

Source: src/builtins/rm.rs
Parses flags: -r, -rf, and -R enable recursive mode
Uses vfs.remove() for files and non-recursive removal
Uses vfs.remove_recursive() for recursive directory removal
Processes multiple targets in sequence
Unknown flags are silently ignored (not validated)

The -f (force) flag in -rf doesn’t add special behavior in Nash - it’s treated the same as -r. There’s no difference between -r and -rf.

Differences from Unix rm

Feature	Unix rm	Nash rm
Remove files	✅ Supported	✅ Supported
Remove directories	✅ `-r` flag	✅ `-r`, `-rf`, `-R`
Multiple targets	✅ Supported	✅ Supported
`-i` (interactive)	✅ Supported	❌ Not supported
`-f` (force)	✅ Ignore missing	❌ Same as `-r`
`-v` (verbose)	✅ Supported	❌ Not supported
Wildcards	Shell expands	Shell expands
Confirm prompts	With `-i`	Never

Use Cases

Clean up temporary files

rm /tmp/*.tmp

Remove build artifacts

rm -rf target/ dist/ build/

Delete specific file types

find . -name "*.bak" | while read f; do rm "$f"; done

Remove empty test directory

mkdir test
rm -r test/

Clean up after processing

cat input.txt | grep IMPORTANT > output.txt
rm input.txt

Common Patterns

Safe removal pattern (check first)

ls temp/
# Verify contents
rm -rf temp/

Remove all except certain files

# Remove all .txt files except important.txt
ls *.txt | grep -v important.txt | while read f; do rm "$f"; done

Conditional removal

if test -f old_data.csv; then
  rm old_data.csv
fi

Remove with confirmation script

#!/bin/nash
echo "About to delete: $1"
read -p "Continue? (y/n) " confirm
if test "$confirm" = "y"; then
  rm "$1"
fi

Safety Considerations

Important Safety Notes:

No confirmation prompts - files are deleted immediately
No -i interactive flag available
No trash/recycle bin - deletion is permanent (within session)
Wildcards expand at shell level - be careful with patterns
-rf combinations don’t require confirmation

Best Practices

Check before removing: Use ls to verify targets
Test with echo: echo rm *.txt to see what would be removed
Use absolute paths: When in doubt about current directory
Backup important data: Especially when using -rf
Start specific: rm file.txt not rm * until you’re sure

ls - List files before removing
find - Find files to remove
mv - Move instead of delete
mkdir - Create directories
test - Check file existence conditionally

Overview

File Operations

Directory Operations

Text Processing

Data Processing

Environment & Shell

Utilities

​Syntax

​Description

​Options

​Parameters

​Behavior

​Examples

​Remove a single file

​Remove multiple files

​Remove all files matching a pattern

​Remove an empty directory (fails without -r)

​Remove a directory recursively

​Remove directory with all contents

​Remove with absolute paths

​Error Handling

​Missing operand

​File doesn’t exist

​Directory without -r flag

​Read-only mounted directory

​Implementation Details

​Differences from Unix rm

​Use Cases

​Clean up temporary files

​Remove build artifacts

​Delete specific file types

​Remove empty test directory

​Clean up after processing

​Common Patterns

​Safe removal pattern (check first)

​Remove all except certain files

​Conditional removal

​Remove with confirmation script

​Safety Considerations

​Best Practices

​Related Commands

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Syntax

Description

Options

Parameters

Behavior

Examples

Remove a single file

Remove multiple files

Remove all files matching a pattern

Remove an empty directory (fails without -r)

Remove a directory recursively

Remove directory with all contents

Remove with absolute paths

Error Handling

Missing operand

File doesn’t exist

Directory without -r flag

Read-only mounted directory

Implementation Details

Differences from Unix rm

Use Cases

Clean up temporary files

Remove build artifacts

Delete specific file types

Remove empty test directory

Clean up after processing

Common Patterns

Safe removal pattern (check first)

Remove all except certain files

Conditional removal

Remove with confirmation script

Safety Considerations

Best Practices

Related Commands