remove(3) — Linux manual page

remove(3)               Library Functions Manual               remove(3)

NAME         top

       remove - remove a file or directory

LIBRARY         top

       Standard C library (libc, -lc)

SYNOPSIS         top

       #include <stdio.h>

       int remove(const char *pathname);

DESCRIPTION         top

       remove() deletes a name from the filesystem.  It calls unlink(2)
       for files, and rmdir(2) for directories.

       If the removed name was the last link to a file and no processes
       have the file open, the file is deleted and the space it was
       using is made available for reuse.

       If the name was the last link to a file, but any processes still
       have the file open, the file will remain in existence until the
       last file descriptor referring to it is closed.

       If the name referred to a symbolic link, the link is removed.

       If the name referred to a socket, FIFO, or device, the name is
       removed, but processes which have the object open may continue to
       use it.

RETURN VALUE         top

       On success, zero is returned.  On error, -1 is returned, and
       errno is set to indicate the error.

ERRORS         top

       The errors that occur are those for unlink(2) and rmdir(2).

ATTRIBUTES         top

       For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see
       attributes(7).
       ┌─────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────┬─────────┐
       │ Interface                           │ Attribute     │ Value   │
       ├─────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────┼─────────┤
       │ remove()                            │ Thread safety │ MT-Safe │
       └─────────────────────────────────────┴───────────────┴─────────┘

STANDARDS         top

       C11, POSIX.1-2008.

HISTORY         top

       POSIX.1-2001, C89, 4.3BSD.

BUGS         top

       Infelicities in the protocol underlying NFS can cause the
       unexpected disappearance of files which are still being used.

SEE ALSO         top

       rm(1), unlink(1), link(2), mknod(2), open(2), rename(2),
       rmdir(2), unlink(2), mkfifo(3), symlink(7)

COLOPHON         top

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Linux man-pages 6.9.1          2024-05-02                      remove(3)

Pages that refer to this page: unlink(2),  stdio(3),  symlink(7)

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