Del (command)

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

Command in various operating systems

title: "Del (command)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["internal-dos-commands", "msx-dos-commands", "os/2-commands", "reactos-commands", "windows-commands", "microcomputer-software", "windows-administration", "file-deletion"] description: "Command in various operating systems" topic_path: "technology/operating-systems" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_(command)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Command in various operating systems ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox software"]

FieldValue
namedel / erase
screenshotReactOS-0.4.13 del command 667x530.png
captionThe ReactOS del command
developerDEC, Microware, Microsoft, IBM, DR, Datalight, Novell, JP Software, ReactOS Contributors
operating systemRT-11, OS/8, RSX-11, OpenVMS, DOS, OS-9, MSX-DOS, FlexOS, SISNE plus, OS/2, Windows, ReactOS, KolibriOS, SymbOS, DexOS
platformCross-platform
genreCommand
::

| name = del / erase | logo = | screenshot = ReactOS-0.4.13 del command 667x530.png | screenshot size = | caption = The ReactOS del command | developer = DEC, Microware, Microsoft, IBM, DR, Datalight, Novell, JP Software, ReactOS Contributors | released = | latest release version = | latest release date = | operating system = RT-11, OS/8, RSX-11, OpenVMS, DOS, OS-9, MSX-DOS, FlexOS, SISNE plus, OS/2, Windows, ReactOS, KolibriOS, SymbOS, DexOS | platform = Cross-platform | genre = Command | license = | website = In computing, del (or erase) is a command in command-line interpreters (shells) such as [COMMAND.COM](command-com), [cmd.exe](cmd-exe), 4DOS, NDOS, 4OS2, 4NT and Windows PowerShell. It is used to delete one or more files or directories from a file system.

Implementations

The command is available for various operating systems including DOS, Microware OS-9, IBM OS/2, Microsoft Windows and ReactOS. It is analogous to the Unix [rm](rm-unix) command and to the Stratus OpenVOS delete_file and delete_dircommands.

DEC RT-11, OS/8,"Concise Command Language" (CCL).{{cite web |url=http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/dec/pdp8/os8/OS8_Handbook_Apr1974.pdf |title=OS/8 Handbook |date=April 1974 |access-date=28 November 2017}} RSX-11, and OpenVMS also provide the delete command which can be contracted to del. AmigaDOS and TSC FLEX provide a delete command as well.

The erase command is supported by Tim Paterson's SCP 86-DOS. On MS-DOS, the command is available in versions 1 and later. It is also available in the open-source MS-DOS emulator DOSBox.

Datalight ROM-DOS also includes an implementation of the and commands.

While Digital Research DR-DOS supports del and erase as well, it also supports the shorthand form era, which derived from CP/M. In addition to this, the DR-DOS command processor also supports delq/eraq. These are shorthand forms for the del/era/erase command with an assumed /Q parameter (for 'Query') given as well.

THEOS/OASIS and FlexOS provide only the erase command.

In PowerShell, del and erase are predefined command aliases for the Remove-Item cmdlet which basically serves the same purpose.

Syntax

::code[lang=doscon]

del filename erase filename ::

References

References

  1. Paul S. Dayan. (1992). "The OS-9 Guru - 1 : The Facts". Galactic Industrial Limited.
  2. "JaTomes Help - OS/2 Commands".
  3. (31 August 2016). "Del".
  4. (3 January 2022). "reactos/reactos".
  5. "Reference manual".
  6. "RT-11 HELP FILE".
  7. John F. Pieper. (1987). "RSX A Guide for Users". Digital Equipment Corporation.
  8. (October 2023). "OpenVMS User's Manual".
  9. (September 14, 1988). "AmigaDOS quick reference". Grand Rapids, Mi : Abacus.
  10. "FLEX 2.0 User's Manual".
  11. (1980). "86-DOS - Disk Operating System for the 8086 - User's Manual". [[Seattle Computer Products, Inc.]].
  12. (2003). "Running MS-DOS Version 6.22 (20th Anniversary Edition), 6th Revised edition". [[Microsoft Press]].
  13. "Datalight ROM-DOS User's Guide".
  14. [https://www.4corn.co.uk/archive/docs/DR%20DOS%206.0%20User%20Guide-opt.pdf DR DOS 6.0 User Guide Optimisation and Configuration Tips]
  15. [http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/phaseOneSystems/THEOS_OASIS_Users_Handbook_1985.pdf THEOS/OASIS User′s Handbook]
  16. (1986). "FlexOS User's Guide".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

internal-dos-commandsmsx-dos-commandsos/2-commandsreactos-commandswindows-commandsmicrocomputer-softwarewindows-administrationfile-deletion