Groups > muc.lists.netbsd.tech.userlevel > #11719

Re: rm -iR

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From	Greg Troxel <gdt@lexort.com>
Newsgroups	muc.lists.netbsd.tech.userlevel
Subject	Re: rm -iR
Date	Tue, 03 Feb 2026 15:21:04 -0500
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Jan Schaumann <jschauma@netmeister.org> writes:

> rm(1) currently says for the '-R' flag:
>
> "If the -i option is specified, the user is prompted
> for confirmation before each directory's contents are
> processed (as well as before the attempt is made to
> remove the directory)."
>
> But it's actually a bit misleading and only prompts
> for _removal_ of a directory, not for processing the
> contents:
>
> $ mkdir -p dir/subdir/subsub dir/subdir2
> $ touch dir/file dir/subdir/file dir/subdir/subsub/file dir/subdir2/file
> $ rm -ir dir
> remove 'dir'? n
> $
>
> On macOS, rm(1) behaves like this:
>
> $ rm -ir dir
> examine files in directory dir? y
> examine files in directory dir/subdir2? y
> remove dir/subdir2/file? n
> examine files in directory dir/subdir2/subsub? n
> remove dir/subdir2? 
>
> Linux / GNU coreutils likewise:
>
> $ rm -ir dir
> rm: descend into directory 'dir'? y
> rm: descend into directory 'dir/subdir'? y
> rm: remove regular empty file 'dir/subdir/file'? n
> rm: descend into directory 'dir/subdir/subsub'? n
> rm: remove regular empty file 'dir/file'? 
>
> That behavior seems to match what the manual page
> describes much more than what we do.  Should we match
> that?

We should ensure that the code and the man page conform to POSIX, unless
there's a really good reason, in which the man page should explain and
justify the nonconformance.

https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9799919799/utilities/rm.html

The other systems look conforming.

It's a good question how FreeBSD documents -i and processes it.

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Thread

rm -iR Jan Schaumann <jschauma@netmeister.org> - 2026-02-03 14:30 -0500
  Re: rm -iR Greg Troxel <gdt@lexort.com> - 2026-02-03 15:21 -0500
    Re: rm -iR Jan Schaumann <jschauma@netmeister.org> - 2026-02-03 16:11 -0500
      Re: rm -iR Greg Troxel <gdt@lexort.com> - 2026-02-03 17:27 -0500
        Re: rm -iR Robert Elz <kre@munnari.OZ.AU> - 2026-02-04 15:46 +0700
  Re: rm -iR Mouse <mouse@Rodents-Montreal.ORG> - 2026-02-03 16:52 -0500
  Re: rm -iR RVP <rvp@SDF.ORG> - 2026-02-04 05:48 +0000
    Re: rm -iR Jan Schaumann <jschauma@netmeister.org> - 2026-02-06 16:33 -0500
      Re: rm -iR Reinoud Zandijk <reinoud@NetBSD.org> - 2026-04-19 18:15 +0200
        Re: rm -iR Jan Schaumann <jschauma@netmeister.org> - 2026-04-25 16:24 -0400

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