This article spotlights alternative tools to rm.
The software featured here is free and open source. All tools provide a command-line interface (CLI) unless otherwise stated.
| Alternatives to rm | |
|---|---|
| rip | Deletion tool focused on safety, ergonomics, and performance |
| rmw | Trashcan/recycle bin utility for the command line |
| trash-cli | Uses the same trashcan used by KDE, GNOME, and XFCE |
| safe-rm | Prevent the accidental deletion of important files |
| trasher | Replace rm and del by a trash system |
| Fast Unix Commands | Provides alternatives for rm and cp |
| gomi | A replacement for rm with trashcan functionality, written in Go |
| gtrash | CLI Trash manager also written in Go |
| Brash | Another CLI trash manager which is similar to trash-cl |
| del | Delete command with integrated undelete function |
| rm-trash | Replacement for rm which solves the issue of accidental removals |
| trashbhuwan | Trashing utility |
| del-cli | JavaScript utility for deleting files and directories |
| rmz | Zippy alternative to rm |
| trashy | Featureful alternative to rm and trash-cli written in Rust |
| Vanish | Modern, safe file deletion tool with recovery capabilities |
| trxsh | Simple and efficient command-line trash manager |
Have we missed any open source alternatives to rm? Please let us know!
This article has been revamped in line with our recent announcement.
All the CLI tools in this series.
| Alternatives to CLI tools |
|---|
| age // awk // bc // cal // cat // cd // chmod // cksum // cloc // cmp // compress // cp // cron // curl // cut // date // dd // df // diff // dig // du // fdisk // file // find // free // ftp // grep // gzip // hexdump // history // jq // kill // less // locate // ls // lsof // make // man // more // mv / ping // ps // psql // rename // rm // sed // split // ssh // stow // strings // sudo // sysctl // tail // talk // tar // telnet // time // top // touch // traceroute // tree // uname // uniq // uptime // vi // watch // Wget // who // whois // xargs |
 Explore our carefully curated directory of recommended free and open source software, covering every major software category.The directory forms part of our extensive collection of articles for Linux enthusiasts. It includes hundreds of detailed reviews, together with free and open source alternatives to proprietary software from companies such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. LinuxLinks also covers interesting projects worth exploring, Linux-compatible hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Know a useful free and open source Linux application that we haven’t covered? Tell us about it using our submission form. |
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I use safe-rm. which prevents the accidental deletion of important files
Thanks for your suggestion Dragon32. We’ve added safe-rm.
Fast Unix Commands provides cpz (and rmz)
Added, thanks
You can replace rm with Trasher which has a portable trash directory system
Thanks Daniel, we’ve now added trasher
gomi should be added. It’s compatible with rm
Many thanks Ivan. The support of the community suggesting additional entries is awesome.