LINUX - REMOVING DIRECTORIES The short answer To remove an entire directory or folder, including the files and subdirectories it contains, you can use the rm command with the -r flag (short for recursive): $ rm -r directory Forcing the removal of directories with rm -f $ rm -rf directory Note that in case the directory belongs to another user, you'll have to use the sudo command to gain elevated privileges in order to remove it. $ sudo rm -rf directory