How to use a command to Wipe a single directory?

Question

Ubuntu 20.04.1; Mate desktop

Is there an app I can install or already have that will 'wipe' just one directory on the drive? Or will a 'Cut' operation, then dropping the file(s) into removable media, completely erase those files?

Or is there a command that will do it in Term? As Root?

Thanks.

score 0 · Answer 1 · edited Mar 12 '21 at 04:06

I think that the mv ( or move command ) would work.

I'll create a test directory in my current directory.
```
steve@AntHill2:~$ mkdir testdir
```
Next I will throw a few random files into it.
```
steve@AntHill2:~$ cp -p *.pdf  testdir
```

Then verify that the files are present with the ls command

steve@AntHill2:~$ ls testdir
AWOJOBI-DISSERTATION-2020.pdf  
R43215_2018Oct23.pdf  R45415_2018Nov28.pdf
IF11029_2018Nov27.pdf          
R45393_2018Nov02.pdf  RS20871_2018Nov28.pdf
LSB10217_2018Nov15.pdf         
R45394_2018Nov05.pdf

Next I will move the directory including its files to the attached and mounted flash drive.
```
steve@AntHill2:~$ mv testdir /media/steve/Backup
```

To prove that the directory has been wiped off, I will try an ls command.

steve@AntHill2:~$ ls -artl testdir
ls: cannot access 'testdir': No such file or directory

To show that the files are now on my removable drive.

steve@AntHill2:~$ ls -artl /media/steve/Backup/testdir
total 10504
-rw-rw-r--  1 steve steve 2179135 Feb 22 23:13 AWOJOBI-DISSERTATION-2020.pdf
-rw-rw-r--  1 steve steve  370498 Feb 22 23:20 IF11029_2018Nov27.pdf
-rw-rw-r--  1 steve steve 1973673 Feb 22 23:22 RS20871_2018Nov28.pdf
-rw-rw-r--  1 steve steve 1237639 Feb 22 23:23 R45394_2018Nov05.pdf
-rw-rw-r--  1 steve steve 1805083 Feb 22 23:25 R45415_2018Nov28.pdf
-rw-rw-r--  1 steve steve  570959 Feb 22 23:27 LSB10217_2018Nov15.pdf
-rw-rw-r--  1 steve steve 1117265 Feb 22 23:29 R43215_2018Oct23.pdf
-rw-rw-r--  1 steve steve 1416249 Feb 22 23:30 R45393_2018Nov02.pdf
drwxrwxr-x  2 steve steve    4096 Mar 11 22:30 .
drwxrwxrwt 22 root  root    61440 Mar 11 22:31 ..

I hope you can use this or something similar.
Though these are simple directory examples, the mv command can move complicated structures having subdirectories and files beneath them by moving the top directory name.

How to use a command to Wipe a single directory?

1 Answers1