How to delete files with a specific extension in Linux

In Linux, it's often necessary to perform batch operations on a group of files, such as deleting all files with a specific extension. If you're faced with such a task, there's a simple command that can help you achieve it in a single step.

The find command is a powerful tool that allows you to search for files and directories based on various criteria, such as name, size, type, etc. In this article, we'll show you how to use the find command to delete all files with a specific extension.

Here's the syntax of the command:

find . -name "*.extension" -delete

The . at the beginning of the command specifies the current directory and its subdirectories to search in. Replace extension with the actual extension of the files you want to delete. For example, to delete all .txt files, the command would be:

find . -name "*.txt" -delete

It's important to note that this command will permanently delete the files and they will not be recoverable, so use it with caution.

In conclusion, the find command is a handy tool for batch operations on a group of files in Linux. With the -name option, you can specify the name pattern of the files you want to find, and with the -delete option, you can delete the matching files in one step. By using this command, you can simplify your work and save time when you need to delete multiple files with a specific extension.