By default, Debian web servers distributions such as Apache or Nginx do not have a trash directory.
When files are deleted on the server, they are usually permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. However, some web applications may have their own implementation of a trash directory, where deleted files are moved before they are permanently deleted.
If you want to implement a trash directory on your Debian web server, you can create a directory and configure your web server or web application to move deleted files to that directory instead of permanently deleting them. You can also use a file recovery tool to attempt to recover deleted files, but there is no guarantee of success.
How do we delete directories with files on Debian with Apache web servers?
To delete a directory with files on a Debian Apache web server, you can use the rm command in the terminal.
Here are the steps to delete a directory:
1 Log in to your Debian Apache web server via SSH or access the terminal directly.
2 Navigate to the parent directory of the directory you want to delete using the cd command. For example, if you want to delete a directory called my_directory located in /var/www/html/, you would navigate to /var/www/html/.
Use the rm command with the -r option to delete the directory recursively, along with all its files and subdirectories. The command would be:
sudo rm -r my_directory
Note that the sudo the command is used to execute the command with root privileges, as you need elevated permissions to delete directories and files owned by other users.
Confirm the deletion by typing Y and pressing Enter when prompted. The command will delete the directory and all its contents.
Be careful when using the rm command, as it permanently deletes files and directories without the possibility of recovery. Make sure you have a backup of any important files before deleting them.
What does deleting the directory recursively mean?
Deleting a directory recursively means deleting not only the directory itself, but also all of its contents, including files, subdirectories, and their contents, and so on.
For example, if you have a directory called my_directory that contains several files and subdirectories with their own files and subdirectories, deleting my_directory recursively will remove everything within it and its subdirectories, including all files and subdirectories within them.
The -r option used with the rm command instructs it to perform a recursive delete operation, deleting the specified directory and all of its contents.
It is important to use this option with caution as it will permanently delete all the files and directories within the specified directory. You should ensure that you have a backup of any important files before using this command!