rmdir
rmdir removes directories — but only empty ones. If a directory still has anything in it, rmdir leaves it alone and reports the failure.
rmdir [options] directory...
$ rmdir old-cache/
That refusal to touch a non-empty directory is the whole point of rmdir: it is the safe way to remove a directory you believe is empty. If it is not empty, you find out instead of losing the contents. To remove a directory together with everything inside it, use rm -r.
Options #
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
-p, --parents | Remove the directory and then its ancestors, as long as each becomes empty in turn. rmdir -p a/b/c removes a/b/c, then a/b, then a. |
--ignore-fail-on-non-empty | Do not treat "directory not empty" as a failure. Other failures are still reported. Useful when clearing out whatever directories happen to be empty and leaving the rest. |
-v, --verbose | Print a line for each directory as it is removed. |
Exit status #
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
0 | Every directory was removed. |
1 | A directory could not be removed — it was not empty, did not exist, or removal was refused. |