Uninstalling Packages and Removing Files with Sudo on Raspberry Pi

A step-by-step guide for deleting installed files on your Raspberry Pi using the sudo command. …

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A step-by-step guide for deleting installed files on your Raspberry Pi using the sudo command.

1. Identify the package name: Before deleting any files, it’s important to know which package they belong to. Open a terminal window on your Raspberry Pi and run the following command to list all installed packages:

dpkg --list

This will output a long list of installed packages with their names, versions, and descriptions. Search for the package name that contains the files you want to delete.

2. Uninstall the package: Once you have identified the package name, you can use sudo to uninstall it along with all its associated files. Run the following command in your terminal replacing <package_name> with the actual package name:

sudo apt-get remove --purge <package_name>

This will remove the package and all its configuration files. If you want to also delete any additional files created by the package, run:

sudo apt-get autoremove

3. Delete custom files manually: In some cases, there might be files that are not part of a package or were installed outside of apt. To delete these manually, navigate to their directory using the cd command and then remove them with the rm command:

cd /path/to/directory
sudo rm -r <file_or_folder_name>

Replace /path/to/directory with the actual path where the file or folder is located, and <file_or_folder_name> with the name of the file or folder you want to delete. If it’s a directory, use the -r flag to remove all its contents recursively.

That’s it! You have successfully deleted installed files on your Raspberry Pi using sudo. Remember that deleting files can be dangerous and may cause issues with your system if you’re not careful. Always make sure you know what you’re deleting before proceeding.