I'm trying to tidy up some old media files, and I ran into a snag. I can see a folder when I list the contents of my current directory using `ls`, but when I try to delete it with `rmdir`, I get an error saying that it doesn't exist. How can I successfully remove this folder?
4 Answers
Another thing to try is finding the inode of the directory. Use `ls -id {your_directory}` to get the inode number. Then you can delete it by using the command `find . -inum {inode_number} -delete`. This can be especially useful if the filepath has issues.
Check if there are any spaces or special characters in the folder name. Using tab completion can help ensure that you're spelling it correctly. Also, try enclosing the folder name in quotes, like this: `rmdir 'folder name'`. This should help if there are any tricky characters involved.
Exactly! Using tab completion is super handy to avoid typos.
If nothing else works, check whether you're handling special characters or spaces correctly. Sometimes, deleting from the GUI (like your file manager on the NAS) can bypass these command line issues if permissions are set differently.
Good call! I ended up deleting it through the NAS interface and that worked perfectly.
Double-check the commands you're using and their outputs. If you're running into persistent issues, it might help to see your exact commands and error messages. There could be hidden files or permission problems you're not seeing at first glance.
I'm sharing my full command history in a comment below for everyone to check!
Thanks for that! I used the inode command and found it really effective.