Files With Strange Names

Occasionally (hopefully not often), file names on Unix systems get created in various ways with strange characters (e.g. metacharacters) in them. File names containing metacharacters sometimes cause problems when trying to remove them or rename them, being especially problematic when they occur at the start of the file name. Examples of these include, but are certainly not limited to:

	-file
	>file
	*file
	#file
	$file
	my file 		# note this file name contains a space

Some tips or techniques for removing these files are as follows:

try enclosing the file name in quotes, either double or single (if it contains dollar signs, back ticks or backslashes)
```
	rm ">file"
	rm "my file"
```
try prefixing the troublesome character with a backslash (\) to escape its special meaning
```
	rm \*file
	rm "\*file"
```
try prefixing the troublesome character with a dot-slash (./), especially useful when the file name begins with a dash
```
	rm ./-file
```
find the pesky files inode (index node) number and remove using the find/exec sequence (be careful with this method).
```
	ls -li		# lists all files inode numbers
	find . inum inode_number -exec rm -i {} \;
```

Go Back