Remove files recursively in Linux

Question

How to remove all the .pyc files recursively from a certain directory including sub-directories? I tried

$rm -f *.pyc

This seems to work for only the current directory, but not the directories following it. Please help me..

Abhilash Joseph · Accepted Answer · 2015-06-30 10:08:54Z

1

You can use

cd <your_directory>
find . -name "*.pyc" -exec rm -rf {} \;

This will remove all the *.pyc files from your current directory and its sub directory

answered Nov 7, 2012 at 12:24

Abhilash Joseph

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I felt that this is a very simple command.. self explanatory..
– Hisham Ibrahim
Nov 7, 2012 at 12:35
Why doesn't anyone think of using rm -rf *.pyc ?
– Nehal J Wani
Nov 10, 2012 at 15:22
1

@NehalJ.Wani because that wouldn't work. rm does not have a search functionailty. the rm -rf can delete directories (and subdirectories recursively). But not search through subdirectories and delete only files.
– ypercubeᵀᴹ
Jun 30, 2015 at 10:05

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dogbane · Accepted Answer · 2012-11-07 12:22:15Z

5

Use find:

find /some/directory -type f - name "*.pyc" -exec rm -f {} \;

or, if your find has the -delete option:

find /some/directory -type f - name "*.pyc" -delete

answered Nov 7, 2012 at 12:22

dogbane

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user868766 · Accepted Answer · 2012-11-07 12:23:31Z

2

find /var/www/html -name "*.pyc" -delete

answered Nov 7, 2012 at 12:23

user868766

1211 bronze badge

You need to quote *.pyc otherwise the shell will expand it. This will not work if there are pyc files in the base directory.
– dogbane
Nov 7, 2012 at 12:27

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3 Answers 3