fossil-rm

View documentation for the original command

$ tldr fossil delete

fossil rm [OPTIONS] FILENAME …

--case-sensitive NAME
    Enable case-sensitive filename matching.

--chdir DIRECTORY
    Change working directory before processing.

--clean
    Also delete files from local disk after untracking.

--empty-dirs
    Remove any empty directories left behind.

--soft
    Untrack files without staging deletion (keep in checkout).

--verily
    Disambiguate ambiguous filenames.

-R|--repository REPO
    Use specific repository file.

--workdir DIR
    Specify working directory.

The fossil rm command removes one or more files from the set of files tracked by a Fossil repository. It stages the deletions for the next fossil commit, updating the repository manifest without altering the local checkout unless the --clean option is used.

By default, fossil rm only untracks files, leaving them intact on disk. This is useful for excluding files from version control while preserving local copies. Specify multiple filenames or use wildcards. Fossil verifies that files are part of the checkout before removal.

It handles directory trees implicitly; removed files update the baseline. Use --soft to untrack without staging deletion, or --empty-dirs to prune empty directories. Always run fossil status afterward to confirm changes before committing.

Ideal for cleaning up ignored files, temporary artifacts, or obsolete code in Fossil-managed projects.

Files are not deleted from disk by default; use --clean cautiously to avoid data loss. Wildcards may not expand as expected in all shells. Requires files to be in current checkout.

fossil rm file.txt
Stage deletion of file.txt.

fossil rm --clean *.tmp
Remove temp files from repo and disk.

fossil rm --soft docs/old.pdf
Untrack without staging or deleting.

0: Success.
1: Error (e.g., file not found or not managed).

Introduced in early Fossil versions (~2007) by D. Richard Hipp as part of core SCM commands. Evolved with options like --clean (v1.0+) for Git-like behavior; actively maintained in Fossil 2.x series.

fossil add(1), fossil commit(1), fossil status(1), rm(1)