What does rm -rf command do on a Linux or Unix?

The syntax to delete the file for rm command is as follows:

rm file

To delete five files named file1, file2, file3, file4, and file5, run:

rm file1 file2 file3 file4 file5

To display the name of each file before removing it:

rm -v file

Use the ls command to list files:

ls -l
ls -ld dirname

To list all files and directories for given directory name, try to find command:

find dirname
find /path/to/dir/ -ls
find /path/to/dir2/ -type d ls
find /path/to/dir2/ -type f ls

Remove the listed directories and their contents recursively

To delete all files and its directories, run:

rm -r dir1
rm -r -v dirname2

You can force the rm command to ignore nonexistent files and missing operands, and never prompt the user:

rm -r -f myDirectory
rm -r -f -v /path/to/dir2/

How to prompt whether to remove each file with rm

Pass the -i or -I as follows:

rm -i fileNameHere
rm -i -r dirName
rm -I fileName

The -I option to the rm command prompts whether to proceed with the command, if more than three files are named or if a recursive removal is requested. Ignore any previous -f option.

rm vs rmdir command to delete directories

The rm command can delete both files and directories (empty or non-empty). The rmdir command can only remove empty directories. The syntax for rmdir command as follows:

rmdir dirnamehere
rmdir -v dir1

To delete non-empty directories try the rm command:

rm -rf dirName

Getting help on the rmdir command

Type the following command at the shell prompt:

man rmdir
rmdir --help

man rm
rm --help