mdel

mdel [options] msdos_file [msdos_file...]

-v
    Enable verbose output, showing each file as it is deleted.

-a
    Delete all files matching the pattern without prompting for confirmation for each file.

-s
    Suppress the display of filenames as they are deleted (quiet mode). This is similar to -a but without any output.

-D
    Experimental: Delete directories as well. Use with caution as this feature might not be fully robust.

--version
    Display version information for the mtools package.

--help
    Display a help message with available options.

msdos_file
    The path to the MS-DOS file(s) to be deleted. Wildcards (* and ?) are supported and follow MS-DOS conventions.

mdel is a utility from the mtools package, designed to delete files from an MS-DOS filesystem. It provides a Linux interface for managing files on media formatted for MS-DOS, such as floppy disks or disk images.

Unlike the standard Linux rm command, mdel understands and operates directly on the MS-DOS filesystem structure, including its filename conventions (8.3 format), attributes (read-only, hidden, system), and distinctions between short and long filenames. It can handle wildcard patterns and offers options for verbose output and confirmation.

It's particularly useful when directly interacting with physical MS-DOS formatted media or disk images without the need to mount them first, providing a convenient way to manage files in cross-platform or legacy environments.

mdel operates exclusively on MS-DOS filesystems; it will not work on native Linux filesystems. Wildcard matching follows MS-DOS rules, which may differ from typical Unix shell globbing rules. Deleted files are permanently removed and are not moved to a 'trash can' or 'recycle bin', making recovery difficult or impossible using standard tools. The -D option for deleting directories is experimental and should be used with care.

mdel interprets wildcards (* and ?) according to MS-DOS rules. The asterisk (*) matches any sequence of characters, and the question mark (?) matches any single character. Unlike some Unix shell interpretations, `*` can match zero or more characters, and the dot (`.`) in filenames is treated as a regular character within wildcard patterns. For example, `*.TXT` matches `FILE.TXT` but also `ANOTHER.TXT` or even `MYFILE` if it had no extension.

The behavior of mdel, like other mtools commands, can be influenced by configuration files, typically `/etc/mtools.conf` and `~/.mtoolsrc`. These files define default drive letters, device paths for floppy drives, and other specific options that affect how mtools interacts with MS-DOS media.

The mdel command is part of the mtools suite, a collection of utilities developed to provide Unix-like access to MS-DOS filesystems without needing to mount them. This was particularly crucial in earlier computing environments where MS-DOS floppy disks were a common means of data exchange between Unix and MS-DOS systems. mtools, and by extension mdel, have been continuously maintained to support evolving MS-DOS/Windows filesystem features, adapting their relevance even as floppy disk usage declined, finding new applications with disk images and embedded systems.

mtools(1), mcopy(1), mdir(1), mcd(1), mmd(1), mrd(1), mformat(1), rm(1)