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Explaining the rm ./-rf "trick"

This question states:

It is amazing how many users don't know about the rm ./-rf or rm -- -rf tricks.

I am afraid to try these, but curious as to what they do. They are also very difficult to search...

Can someone enlighten me?

Solution

  • rm ./-rf and/or rm -- -rf would attempt to remove a file named, specifically, -rf

    The only trick here is that you normally can't delete a file that starts with a "-" because the command will assume it's a command argument. By preceding the file with a full path, or using the -- option (which means, end all options) the command will no longer assume it's an argument.

    It should be noted that the -- version of this trick may or may not work with all shell commands either, so it's best to use the first version.