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I tried using rm -rf .* command to remove a hidden file and I am met with this error.

rm: refusing to remove '.' or '..' directory: skipping '.'
rm: refusing to remove '.' or '..' directory: skipping '..'
Marcus Müller
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Agbodike Chetam
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  • You may find this helpful: how to glob every hidden file except current and parent directory – steeldriver Jan 18 '24 at 13:55
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    What is your question? – symcbean Jan 18 '24 at 14:19
  • If you add the result of running ls -A in the directory holding the file you want to delete, what is the name of the file? Running your rm -rf .* will have deleted ALL files and directories starting with a dot (.). If that was in your home directory you'll have now lost all your configuration files. Time to restore from your backup - if you had one – Chris Davies Jan 18 '24 at 14:27
  • Why not just use the filename? – Bret Weinraub Jan 18 '24 at 14:44
  • rm -rf .* does not remove "a hidden file" but all of them in your current working directory. And hidden directories, if any, recursively. Are you sure you want this? It's a pretty dangerous command that I don't recommend to ever execute. Remove only the exact files and directories you want to. Also maybe consider using an interactive file manager, such as mc in terminals, or a graphical one. – egmont Jan 18 '24 at 20:02

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