rm (remove files) in Linux CLI - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What is the output of this command?

You run the command rm -i file1.txt in a directory where file1.txt exists. What will happen?

Linux CLI

rm -i file1.txt

A The file file1.txt is deleted immediately without any prompt.

B The system asks for confirmation before deleting file1.txt.

C The command shows an error because -i is not a valid option.

D The command deletes all files in the directory.

💡 Hint

The -i option in rm stands for interactive mode.

The -i option makes rm ask for confirmation before deleting each file.

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What happens when you run this command?

You run rm -r myfolder where myfolder contains files and subfolders. What is the result?

Linux CLI

rm -r myfolder

A The command deletes only files inside myfolder but not subfolders.

B Only the empty folder myfolder is deleted; files inside remain.

C The folder myfolder and all its contents are deleted recursively.

D The command fails with an error because -r is not valid.

💡 Hint

The -r option means recursive deletion.

The -r option tells rm to delete directories and their contents recursively.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Why does this command fail?

You run rm -f file1.txt file2.txt but get an error saying rm: cannot remove 'file2.txt': Permission denied. What is the cause?

Linux CLI

rm -f file1.txt file2.txt

A file2.txt exists, but the error appears because the command was run without sufficient permissions.

B file2.txt does not exist, but -f suppresses errors so no message should appear.

C file2.txt does not exist, but the error appears because the shell expanded a variable incorrectly.

D file2.txt does not exist, but the error appears because -f was not recognized.

💡 Hint

The -f option forces removal and suppresses errors for missing files.

If the user lacks permission to access the directory or file, rm can show errors even with -f.

📝 Syntax

advanced

Which command correctly deletes all .log files in the current directory?

Choose the correct rm command to delete all files ending with .log in the current folder.

A rm *.log

B rm -r *.log

C rm -rf *.log

D rm -f *.log

💡 Hint

Use -f to force deletion without prompts.

rm -f *.log deletes all .log files forcibly without asking for confirmation. -r is unnecessary for files.

🚀 Application

expert

How many files remain after running this script?

You have a folder with files: a.txt, b.txt, c.log, d.log, e.txt. You run this script:

rm -f *.txt
rm -i *.log

After confirming deletion of only c.log, how many files remain?

A 1

B 2

C 3

D 0

💡 Hint

First command deletes all .txt files without prompt. Second asks for confirmation on .log files.

rm -f *.txt deletes a.txt, b.txt, e.txt. rm -i *.log prompts for c.log and d.log. Only c.log is confirmed deleted, so d.log remains.