Exercise 7: Remove Directory (rmdir)
In this exercise you learn how to remove an empty directory.
Do This
Linux/macOS
$ cd temp
$ ls
stuff
$ cd stuff/things/orange/apple/pear/grape/
$ cd ..
$ rmdir grape
$ cd ..
$ rmdir pear
$ cd ..
$ ls
apple
$ rmdir apple
$ cd ..
$ ls
orange
$ rmdir orange
$ cd ..
$ ls
things
$ rmdir things
$ cd ..
$ ls
stuff
$ rmdir stuff
$ pwd
~/temp
$
Warning
If you try to do rmdir on macOS and it refuses to remove the directory even though you are positive it's empty, then there is actually a file in there called .DS_Store. In that case, type rm -rf <dir> instead (replace <dir> with the directory name).
Windows
> cd temp
> ls
Directory: C:\Users\zed\temp
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
d---- 12/17/2011 9:03 AM stuff
> cd stuff/things/orange/apple/pear/grape/
> cd ..
> rmdir grape
> cd ..
> rmdir pear
> cd ..
> rmdir apple
> cd ..
> rmdir orange
> cd ..
> ls
Directory: C:\Users\zed\temp\stuff
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
d---- 12/17/2011 9:14 AM things
> rmdir things
> cd ..
> ls
Directory: C:\Users\zed\temp
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
d---- 12/17/2011 9:14 AM stuff
> rmdir stuff
> pwd
Path
----
C:\Users\zed\temp
> cd ..
>
You Learned This
I'm now mixing up the commands, so make sure you type them exactly and pay attention. Every time you make a mistake, it's because you aren't paying attention. If you find yourself making many mistakes, then take a break or just quit for the day. You've always got tomorrow to try again.
In this example you'll learn how to remove a directory. It's easy. You just go to the directory right above it, then type rmdir <dir>, replacing <dir> with the name of the directory to remove.
Do More
- Make 20 more directories and remove them all.
- Make a single path of directories that is 10 deep and remove them one at a time just like I did previously.
- If you try to remove a directory with contents, you will get an error. I'll show you how to remove those in later exercises.