6 git-rm - Remove files from the working tree and from the index
11 'git rm' [-f | --force] [-n] [-r] [--cached | --staged] [--ignore-unmatch] [--quiet] [--] <file>...
15 Remove files from the index, or from the working tree and the index.
16 `git rm` will not remove a file from just your working directory.
17 (There is no option to remove a file only from the working tree
18 and yet keep it in the index; use `/bin/rm` if you want to do that.)
19 The files being removed have to be identical to the tip of the branch,
20 and no updates to their contents can be staged in the index,
21 though that default behavior can be overridden with the `-f` option.
22 When `--cached` is given, the staged content has to
23 match either the tip of the branch or the file on disk,
24 allowing the file to be removed from just the index.
30 Files to remove. Fileglobs (e.g. `*.c`) can be given to
31 remove all matching files. If you want Git to expand
32 file glob characters, you may need to shell-escape them.
33 A leading directory name
34 (e.g. `dir` to remove `dir/file1` and `dir/file2`) can be
35 given to remove all files in the directory, and recursively
37 but this requires the `-r` option to be explicitly given.
41 Override the up-to-date check.
45 Don't actually remove any file(s). Instead, just show
46 if they exist in the index and would otherwise be removed
50 Allow recursive removal when a leading directory name is
54 This option can be used to separate command-line options from
55 the list of files, (useful when filenames might be mistaken
56 for command-line options).
59 Use this option to unstage and remove paths only from the index.
60 Working tree files, whether modified or not, will be
67 Exit with a zero status even if no files matched.
71 `git rm` normally outputs one line (in the form of an `rm` command)
72 for each file removed. This option suppresses that output.
78 The <file> list given to the command can be exact pathnames,
79 file glob patterns, or leading directory names. The command
80 removes only the paths that are known to Git. Giving the name of
81 a file that you have not told Git about does not remove that file.
83 File globbing matches across directory boundaries. Thus, given
84 two directories `d` and `d2`, there is a difference between
85 using `git rm 'd*'` and `git rm 'd/*'`, as the former will
86 also remove all of directory `d2`.
88 REMOVING FILES THAT HAVE DISAPPEARED FROM THE FILESYSTEM
89 --------------------------------------------------------
90 There is no option for `git rm` to remove from the index only
91 the paths that have disappeared from the filesystem. However,
92 depending on the use case, there are several ways that can be
95 Using ``git commit -a''
96 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
97 If you intend that your next commit should record all modifications
98 of tracked files in the working tree and record all removals of
99 files that have been removed from the working tree with `rm`
100 (as opposed to `git rm`), use `git commit -a`, as it will
101 automatically notice and record all removals. You can also have a
102 similar effect without committing by using `git add -u`.
106 When accepting a new code drop for a vendor branch, you probably
107 want to record both the removal of paths and additions of new paths
108 as well as modifications of existing paths.
110 Typically you would first remove all tracked files from the working
111 tree using this command:
114 git ls-files -z | xargs -0 rm -f
117 and then untar the new code in the working tree. Alternately
118 you could 'rsync' the changes into the working tree.
120 After that, the easiest way to record all removals, additions, and
121 modifications in the working tree is:
127 See linkgit:git-add[1].
131 If all you really want to do is to remove from the index the files
132 that are no longer present in the working tree (perhaps because
133 your working tree is dirty so that you cannot use `git commit -a`),
134 use the following command:
137 git diff --name-only --diff-filter=D -z | xargs -0 git rm --cached
142 Only submodules using a gitfile (which means they were cloned
143 with a Git version 1.7.8 or newer) will be removed from the work
144 tree, as their repository lives inside the .git directory of the
145 superproject. If a submodule (or one of those nested inside it)
146 still uses a .git directory, `git rm` will fail - no matter if forced
147 or not - to protect the submodule's history. If it exists the
148 submodule.<name> section in the linkgit:gitmodules[5] file will also
149 be removed and that file will be staged (unless --cached or -n are used).
151 A submodule is considered up-to-date when the HEAD is the same as
152 recorded in the index, no tracked files are modified and no untracked
153 files that aren't ignored are present in the submodules work tree.
154 Ignored files are deemed expendable and won't stop a submodule's work
155 tree from being removed.
157 If you only want to remove the local checkout of a submodule from your
158 work tree without committing the removal,
159 use linkgit:git-submodule[1] `deinit` instead.
163 `git rm Documentation/\*.txt`::
164 Removes all `*.txt` files from the index that are under the
165 `Documentation` directory and any of its subdirectories.
167 Note that the asterisk `*` is quoted from the shell in this
168 example; this lets Git, and not the shell, expand the pathnames
169 of files and subdirectories under the `Documentation/` directory.
171 `git rm -f git-*.sh`::
172 Because this example lets the shell expand the asterisk
173 (i.e. you are listing the files explicitly), it
174 does not remove `subdir/git-foo.sh`.
178 Each time a superproject update removes a populated submodule
179 (e.g. when switching between commits before and after the removal) a
180 stale submodule checkout will remain in the old location. Removing the
181 old directory is only safe when it uses a gitfile, as otherwise the
182 history of the submodule will be deleted too. This step will be
183 obsolete when recursive submodule update has been implemented.
191 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite
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