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How to use pipes to reference stdout of a command from within the stdin of another?

rated 0 times [ 3] [ 0] / answers: 1 / hits: 3104 / 3 Years ago, mon, may 17, 2021, 1:21:20

I am trying to understand how to use the stdout as the stdin of another command. To test it, I am trying to use the following command to delete all directories from the current folder.

ls -d -- */ | rm -rf $1

I would expect the result of ls -d -- */ to be piped into the input of the rm, but it does not work. Ideas?

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suitman

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3 Years ago

answered 3 Years ago mocipe · Accepted Answer

Not all commands/programs will directly accept piped input (including rm). Additionally, why are you using the bash substitution variable $1 outside of a script?

For your general case, you need to look at xargs, a utility whose goal is to simplify such scenarios by taking a list from stdin and then invoking a command with the elements of that list (in different possible ways).

For what you want to do...(use it wisely!): rm -rf * (or .) will suffice.