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# rmdir() - Unix, Linux System Call

# NAME

rmdir - delete a directory

# SYNOPSIS

#include <unistd.h>

int rmdir(const char *pathname);

# DESCRIPTION

rmdir() deletes a directory, which must be empty.

# RETURN VALUE

On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned, and errno is set appropriately.

# ERRORS

Tag | Description
--- | ---
EACCES | Write access to the directory containing pathname was not allowed, or one of the directories in the path prefix of pathname did not allow search permission. (See also path_resolution(2).
EBUSY | pathname is currently in use by the system or some process that prevents its removal. On Linux this means pathname is currently used as a mount point or is the root directory of the calling process.
EFAULT | pathname points outside your accessible address space.
EINVAL | pathname has . as last component.
ELOOP | Too many symbolic links were encountered in resolving pathname.
ENAMETOOLONG
| pathname was too long.
ENOENT | A directory component in pathname does not exist or is a dangling symbolic link.
ENOMEM | Insufficient kernel memory was available.
ENOTDIR
| pathname, or a component used as a directory in pathname, is not, in fact, a directory.
ENOTEMPTY
| pathname contains entries other than . and .. ; or, pathname has .. as its final component.
EPERM | The directory containing pathname has the sticky bit (S_ISVTX) set and the process’s effective user ID is neither the user ID of the file to be deleted nor that of the directory containing it, and the process is not privileged (Linux: does not have the CAP_FOWNER capability).
EPERM | The filesystem containing pathname does not support the removal of directories.
EROFS | pathname refers to a file on a read-only filesystem.

# CONFORMING TO

SVr4, 4.3BSD, POSIX.1-2001.

# BUGS

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

# SEE ALSO

- rm (1)

- rmdir (1)

- chdir (2)

- chmod (2)

- mkdir (2)

- rename (2)

- unlink (2)

- unlinkat (2)

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