Bash Manipulation: Cleanup Rehearsal

Cleanup commands should be deliberate, not impulsive. This rehearsal focuses on removing known files and then removing an empty directory with separate commands.

mkdir -p cleanup-demo/scratch
touch cleanup-demo/temp1.txt cleanup-demo/temp2.txt
rm cleanup-demo/temp1.txt cleanup-demo/temp2.txt
rmdir cleanup-demo/scratch cleanup-demo

Successful removals are silent. Verify state using:

test ! -e cleanup-demo && echo 'cleanup-demo removed'

The removed files and directory should no longer appear.

Deletion is irreversible in many contexts. Building a verify-first habit before and after cleanup operations prevents avoidable outages.

• Running rm with broad patterns before listing targets.
• Using directory removal commands on non-empty directories.
• Treating silent output as optional to verify.

Create a disposable target, then remove it:

touch a.tmp b.tmp
rm a.tmp b.tmp

This controlled repetition builds precision and confidence for larger cleanup tasks.