Delete Multiple Files at Once in Bash

Introduction

Bash is a Unix shell and command language that is commonly used on Linux systems. It allows users to perform a variety of tasks, including deleting files. In this article, we will look at how to delete multiple files at once in Bash on a Linux system. We will cover the basic syntax for deleting multiple files, as well as some advanced techniques for deleting specific types of files or forcing the deletion of write-protected files.

Using rm Command in Linux

The rm command is used to delete files in Bash. To delete a single file, you can use the

$ rm myfile1.temp

This will delete the file myfile1.temp.

To specifically delete multiple files at once using the rm command followed by the names of the files you want to delete, separated by spaces. 

$ rm myfile1.temp myfile2.temp myfile3.temp

This will delete the files myfile1.temp, myfile2.temp, and myfile3.temp.

Wildcards

In addition to specifying the names of the files you want to delete, you can also use wildcards to delete multiple files at once. Wildcards are special characters that match one or more characters in a file name.

The most commonly used wildcard is the * character, which matches zero or more characters in a file name. For example, to delete all .zip files in the current directory, you can use the following command ?

$ rm *.zip

This will delete all files in the current directory that end in .zip.

You can also use the ? wildcard, which matches any single character. For example, to delete all files in the current or working directory that have a single-digit numeric name, you can use the following command ?

$ rm ?

This will delete all files in the current or working directory that have a single-digit numeric name, such as 1, 2, 3, etc.

Advanced rm Options

There are several advanced options that you can use with the rm command to delete multiple files in specific ways.

The -i Flag

By default, the rm command will delete files without prompting for confirmation. However, you can use the -i flag to make rm prompt you for confirmation before deleting each file.

$ rm -i myfile1.temp myfile2.temp myfile3.temp

This will display a prompt for each file, asking you to confirm that you want to delete it.

The -f Flag

Sometimes, you may want to delete a file that is write-protected or otherwise cannot be deleted normally. In these cases, you can use the -f flag to force rm to delete the file.

$ rm -f myfile1.temp myfile2.temp myfile3.temp

This will delete the files myfile1.temp, myfile1.temp, and myfile1.temp, even if they are write-protected.

The -r Flag

The -r flag can be used to delete directories and their contents, recursively. This is useful when you want to delete a directory and all of its subdirectories and files. 

$ rm -r directory

This will delete the directory directory, as well as all of its subdirectories and files.

Be Careful with wildcards

It is important to be careful when using wildcards to delete multiple files, as it is easy to accidentally delete more files than you intended. For example, the command below will delete all visible files in the current directory, regardless of their extension ?

$ rm *

To avoid accidentally deleting important files, it is a good idea to use the -i flag when using wildcards to delete multiple files. This will prompt you for confirmation before deleting each file, giving you a chance to cancel the operation if necessary.

In some cases, you may need to delete a file that is owned by the root user or that has permissions that prevent you from deleting it as a regular user. In these cases, you can use the sudo command to execute the rm command as the root user.

Conclusion

In this article, we have looked at how to delete multiple files at once in Bash on a Linux system. We have seen how to use the rm command with wildcards and the -i, -f, and -r flags to delete multiple files and force the deletion of write-protected files and directories. With these tools at your disposal, you should be able to easily delete multiple files in Bash on your Linux system, while still being careful to avoid deleting important files by accident. So, it is always good to be careful while deleting multiple files at once in Bash on a Linux system.