# git-rm

## NAME



           git-rm - Remove files from the working tree and from the index
    


## SYNOPSIS



           **git rm**[**-f** | **--force**] [**-n**] [**-r**] [**--cached**] [**--ignore-unmatch**]
                  [**--quiet**] [**--pathspec-from-file=**_< file>_ [**--pathspec-file-nul**]]
                  [**--**] [_< pathspec>_...]
    


## DESCRIPTION



           Remove files matching pathspec from the index, or from the working
           tree and the index. **git rm** will not remove a file from just your
           working directory. (There is no option to remove a file only from
           the working tree and yet keep it in the index; use **/bin/rm** if you
           want to do that.) The files being removed have to be identical to
           the tip of the branch, and no updates to their contents can be
           staged in the index, though that default behavior can be
           overridden with the **-f** option. When **--cached** is given, the staged
           content has to match either the tip of the branch or the file on
           disk, allowing the file to be removed from just the index. When
           sparse-checkouts are in use (see git-sparse-checkout(1)), **git rm**
           will only remove paths within the sparse-checkout patterns.
    


## OPTIONS



           _< pathspec>_...
               Files to remove. A leading directory name (e.g.  **dir** to remove
               **dir/file1** and **dir/file2**) can be given to remove all files in
               the directory, and recursively all sub-directories, but this
               requires the **-r** option to be explicitly given.
    
               The command removes only the paths that are known to Git.
    
               File globbing matches across directory boundaries. Thus, given
               two directories **d** and **d2** , there is a difference between using
               **git rm** 'd*' and **git rm** 'd/*', as the former will also remove
               all of directory **d2**.
    
               For more details, see the _< pathspec>_ entry in gitglossary(7).
    
           **-f** , **--force**
               Override the up-to-date check.
    
           **-n** , **--dry-run**
               Don’t actually remove any file(s). Instead, just show if they
               exist in the index and would otherwise be removed by the
               command.
    
           **-r**
               Allow recursive removal when a leading directory name is
               given.
    
           **--**
               This option can be used to separate command-line options from
               the list of files, (useful when filenames might be mistaken
               for command-line options).
    
           **--cached**
               Use this option to unstage and remove paths only from the
               index. Working tree files, whether modified or not, will be
               left alone.
    
           **--ignore-unmatch**
               Exit with a zero status even if no files matched.
    
           **--sparse**
               Allow updating index entries outside of the sparse-checkout
               cone. Normally, **git rm** refuses to update index entries whose
               paths do not fit within the sparse-checkout cone. See
               git-sparse-checkout(1) for more.
    
           **-q** , **--quiet**
               **git rm** normally outputs one line (in the form of an **rm**
               command) for each file removed. This option suppresses that
               output.
    
           **--pathspec-from-file=**_< file>_
               Pathspec is passed in _< file>_ instead of args. If _< file>_ is
               exactly **-** then standard input is used. Pathspec elements are
               separated by _LF_ or _CR_ /_LF_. Pathspec elements can be quoted as
               explained for the configuration variable **core.quotePath**(see
               git-config(1)). See also **--pathspec-file-nul** and global
               **--literal-pathspecs**.
    
           **--pathspec-file-nul**
               Only meaningful with **--pathspec-from-file**. Pathspec elements
               are separated with _NUL_ character and all other characters are
               taken literally (including newlines and quotes).
    


## REMOVING FILES THAT HAVE DISAPPEARED FROM THE FILESYSTEM



           There is no option for **git rm** to remove from the index only the
           paths that have disappeared from the filesystem. However,
           depending on the use case, there are several ways that can be
           done.
    
       **Using “git commit -a”**
           If you intend that your next commit should record all
           modifications of tracked files in the working tree and record all
           removals of files that have been removed from the working tree
           with **rm**(as opposed to **git rm**), use **git commit -a** , as it will
           automatically notice and record all removals. You can also have a
           similar effect without committing by using **git add -u**.
    
       **Using “git add -A”**
           When accepting a new code drop for a vendor branch, you probably
           want to record both the removal of paths and additions of new
           paths as well as modifications of existing paths.
    
           Typically you would first remove all tracked files from the
           working tree using this command:
    
               git ls-files -z | xargs -0 rm -f
    
           and then untar the new code in the working tree. Alternately you
           could _rsync_ the changes into the working tree.
    
           After that, the easiest way to record all removals, additions, and
           modifications in the working tree is:
    
               git add -A
    
           See git-add(1).
    
       **Other ways**
           If all you really want to do is to remove from the index the files
           that are no longer present in the working tree (perhaps because
           your working tree is dirty so that you cannot use **git commit -a**),
           use the following command:
    
               git diff --name-only --diff-filter=D -z | xargs -0 git rm --cached
    


## SUBMODULES



           Only submodules using a gitfile (which means they were cloned with
           a Git version 1.7.8 or newer) will be removed from the work tree,
           as their repository lives inside the **.git** directory of the
           superproject. If a submodule (or one of those nested inside it)
           still uses a **.git** directory, **git rm** moves the submodules git
           directory into the superprojects git directory to protect the
           submodule’s history. If it exists the **submodule.**_< name>_ section in
           the gitmodules(5) file will also be removed and that file will be
           staged (unless **--cached** or **-n** are used).
    
           A submodule is considered up to date when the **HEAD** is the same as
           recorded in the index, no tracked files are modified and no
           untracked files that aren’t ignored are present in the submodule’s
           work tree. Ignored files are deemed expendable and won’t stop a
           submodule’s work tree from being removed.
    
           If you only want to remove the local checkout of a submodule from
           your work tree without committing the removal, use
           git-submodule(1) **deinit** instead. Also see gitsubmodules(7) for
           details on submodule removal.
    


## EXAMPLES



           **git rm Documentation/\*.txt**
               Removes all ***.txt** files from the index that are under the
               **Documentation** directory and any of its subdirectories.
    
               Note that the asterisk ***** is quoted from the shell in this
               example; this lets Git, and not the shell, expand the
               pathnames of files and subdirectories under the **Documentation/**
               directory.
    
           **git rm -f git-*.sh**
               Because this example lets the shell expand the asterisk (i.e.
               you are listing the files explicitly), it does not remove
               **subdir/git-foo.sh**.
    


## BUGS



           Each time a superproject update removes a populated submodule
           (e.g. when switching between commits before and after the removal)
           a stale submodule checkout will remain in the old location.
           Removing the old directory is only safe when it uses a gitfile, as
           otherwise the history of the submodule will be deleted too. This
           step will be obsolete when recursive submodule update has been
           implemented.
    


## GIT



           Part of the git(1) suite
    


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