wipe

Secure file deletion with overwrite patterns

TLDR

Securely wipe a file

$ wipe [file]

Wipe a file with force (no confirmation)

$ wipe -f [file]

Recursively wipe a directory

$ wipe -r [directory]

Quick wipe (4 passes instead of 34)

$ wipe -q [file]

Quick wipe with custom passes

$ wipe -Q [8] [file]

Wipe without removing the file

$ wipe -k [file]

Verbose output

$ wipe -v [file]

SYNOPSIS

wipe [-rcfsvq] [-Q passes] [-a] [file ...]

wipe securely deletes files by overwriting their contents with special patterns to prevent data recovery. By default, it performs 34 write passes including 8 random patterns, based on research by Peter Gutmann on secure data erasure.
The command overwrites the file, renames it multiple times, truncates it, and finally unlinks it. This multi-step process defeats various data recovery techniques used on magnetic storage.
For faster operation, use -q for 4 passes or -Q to specify a custom number between 4 and 34.

PARAMETERS

-f

Force; disable confirmation prompts

-r

Recursively wipe directories and contents

-c

Request confirmation for each file (default for regular files)

-s

Silent mode; suppress most output

-v

Verbose mode; show progress

-q

Quick wipe; use 4 passes instead of 34

-Q passes

Quick wipe with specified number of passes

-a

Wipe files but abort on errors

-k

Keep files after wiping (don't delete)

CAVEATS

Secure wiping is ineffective on SSDs due to wear-leveling and write amplification; SSDs should use ATA Secure Erase or encryption instead. Journaling file systems (ext3, ext4, XFS) may retain data in journals. RAID systems and copy-on-write file systems (ZFS, Btrfs) may preserve old data in redundant locations.

HISTORY

wipe implements the Gutmann method for secure deletion, based on Peter Gutmann's 1996 paper on secure data removal from magnetic media. The tool provides a more thorough alternative to shred from GNU coreutils.