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How do I securely delete a file using the shred command in Linux
ID: 414
Category: Linux Terminal
Added: 11th of November 2025
Views: 56
If you have files on your Linux system that need securely deleting you can use the shred command. The standard shred command without specifying any other options, overwrites a file three times with random data, making it extremely difficult to recover any data.
To delete a file using the shred command enter the following in the terminal
shred {filename}
To delete a file and overwrite it 5 times use the -n switch
shred -n 5 {filename}
When you shred a file, it will be overwritten but not deleted. To delete the file use the -u switch
shred -u -n 5 {filename}
To view the progress use the -v switch
shred -u -v -n 5 {filename}
For more information on the shred command, you can view the manual page in the terminal
man shred
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