remove(3)                  Library Functions Manual                  remove(3)

NAME
       remove - remove a file or directory

LIBRARY
       Standard C library (libc, -lc)

SYNOPSIS
       #include <stdio.h>

       int remove(const char *pathname);

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

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

ATTRIBUTES
       For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see
       attributes(7).

       +--------------------------------------------+---------------+---------+
       |Interface                                   | Attribute     | Value   |
       +--------------------------------------------+---------------+---------+
       |remove ()                                   | Thread safety | MT-Safe |
       +--------------------------------------------+---------------+---------+
STANDARDS
       C11, POSIX.1-2008.

HISTORY
       POSIX.1-2001, C89, 4.3BSD.

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

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

Linux man-pages 6.7               2023-10-31                         remove(3)