[absmiths]

Is there a command-line way to get a file into the trash? Also, can I secure-delete the trash contents from the command line?

[Arkham_c]

To move a file to the trash:

Code:
mv <somefile> ~/.Trash/

To secure-delete a file, use srm. It works like "rm" but has more options for secure delete.

[Turnpike]

I would suggest writing a shell script to do this automatically... so you could just use "trash foo"

[uberwrensch]

Originally posted by Turnpike:
I would suggest writing a shell script to do this automatically... so you could just use "trash foo"

FWIW, I just added a trash() function to my start-up file--in my case, .zshenv.

trash() { mv "$@" ~/.Trash; }

Of course, you can tweak as necessary. For example, I use this to collect all the .mp3s and send to trash:

trashmp3() { find . -iname '*.mp3' -exec mv {} ~/.Trash \; }

I ain't no expert but it works for me ;-)

HTH,

Uber

[absmiths]

Thanks to everyone - I think what I will do is alias trash to move files into the trashcan, and also create an alias to secure emtpy the trash from the command-line - that should work well.

Thanks all!

[Gary Kerbaugh]

   Scripts to move items to trash have already been written. I call my own rmm because it emulates the behavior of rm. It supports all of the same options and responds in the same way. The main difference is that it moves the files to trash instead of unlinking them. It uses 'ditto" to make the move so that resource forks are preserved. That way, if you make a mistake and want to pull items out of trash, they will still have their resource forks. Otherwise, some files would be rendered useless by the move to trash anyway.

   If you download the script, you should get the one called rmm. The page linked to above is a little out of date; the rmm script has been thoroughly tested.