Delete File

mjchin · 02-07-2008, 07:15 PM

I was archiving some files and accidentally used the command:
"tgz -czvf Filename.tgz directory name"

I now have a file named " -czvf.tgz " and I cannot delete it, even as root. I tried rm -czvf.tgz and mv -czvf.tgz test.tgz in an attempt to rename it but none seems to work. Any ideas?

Thanks

jailbait · 02-07-2008, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjchin

I was archiving some files and accidentally used the command:
"tgz -czvf Filename.tgz directory name"

I now have a file named " -czvf.tgz " and I cannot delete it, even as root. I tried rm -czvf.tgz and mv -czvf.tgz test.tgz in an attempt to rename it but none seems to work. Any ideas?

Thanks

What error message does rm give you?

------------------
Steve Stites

gankoji · 02-07-2008, 07:23 PM

what user did you create the archive as?

log in as that user and try to delete it from there. Are you using Ubuntu? I've heard that their version of root isn't really root.
If so, then add your user account to the sudoers file (/etc/sudoers) and beneath that add rm (the command you want to be able to sudo). Then, try removing the file using

sudo rm -cvzf.tgz

and then typing your password. Hopefully this helps.

Happy Hunting :-)

b0nd · 02-07-2008, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjchin

I was archiving some files and accidentally used the command:
"tgz -czvf Filename.tgz directory name"

I now have a file named " -czvf.tgz " and I cannot delete it, even as root. I tried rm -czvf.tgz and mv -czvf.tgz test.tgz in an attempt to rename it but none seems to work. Any ideas?

Thanks

probably it might be in use so you were not being able to delete or move it. Reboot the machine and you will be able to remove it.

regards

Uncle_Theodore · 02-07-2008, 07:47 PM

Your file name starts with a dash. That's why you can't remove it, probably... Try
rm ./-cvzf.tgz
instead.

leonscape · 02-07-2008, 07:51 PM

Its a simpler matter than you think...

rm ./-czvf.tgz

as this moves the character away from the beginning at it no longer looks like an option.

billymayday · 02-07-2008, 07:52 PM

Or rm "-cvzf.tgz"

leonscape · 02-07-2008, 08:03 PM

billymayday: that won't actually work, In the same way you can't create a file with

touch "-cvzf.tgz"

but can with

touch ./-cvzf.tgz

Brief partly inaccurate discription follows

Double quotes simply prevent spaces being argument separators, single quotes do the same but don't allow expansion of variables ie '$path'. So - is still the first part of the argument, making the argument an option part.

jschiwal · 02-07-2008, 08:23 PM

You can use "rm -- -cvzf.tgz". The double dashes tells bash that there are no more arguments so the dash can be taken literally.

So to demonstrate, you could enter:
touch -- -stupid.name
rm -- stupid.name

As you already noticed the touch command needs the double dashes as well for the same reason that they are needed for the "rm" command. Otherwise the shell takes the characters following the dash as arguments.