I mostly agree, but sometimes I wish that `rm` would have default to "confirm before destroying", and add a flag like `-y` to not prompt, more or less like how `apt` works on Ubuntu.

That's actually a way better experience than no confirmation and confirming each item individually.

rm can do that... set an alias to ask to confirm every time.

That's fine on my computer, but if I'm logging into a server I'm not going to do that every time.

As much as we all wish it wouldn't be so, TANSTAAFL. What is your suggestion and how does it maintain compatibility with the existing body of code?

rm doesn’t provide an action summary, does it?

Last time I used the interactive option, it needed me to press Y once for every file.

If you have a list of 200 files you’re probably not even reading by the end.

I wholeheartedly agree that rm -i is a terrible UI. However: what presentation of 200 paths would you not glaze over?

Microsoft gets lots of praise for maintaining Backwards Compatibility, even if it's Bug Compatibility, yet POSIX gets shit for the same.

The presentation suggested in this very thread would work better for me. I generally pay pretty close attention to package apt/pacman/dnf output because it is all right there in front of me.

Perhaps ironically, if those programs asked me for each change I would just hold Y until it went away. Needing confirmation of each item is why I glaze over.

This seems worse then remembering, because you still have to remember that your safe-by-default command is unsafe-by-default everywhere you're not usually.

alias rm="rm -i" alias mv="mv -i"

This was in the default when running in interactive shell for Mandrake Linux (way too many) years ago.