This EX200 practice question tests your understanding of essential tools. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A user is unable to delete a file named '-f' in the current directory. Which command will successfully remove it?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "which command"
Why it matters: Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
rm \-f
Why wrong: Backslash escapes the hyphen but rm still interprets -f as an option.
rm -- -f
-- ends option parsing, so -f is treated as a filename.
rm -f
Why wrong: rm -f treats -f as a force flag, not a filename.
rm "-f"
Why wrong: Quotes do not prevent option parsing; rm still sees -f as a flag.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
rm -- -f
Option B is correct because the '--' double dash signals the end of command options to most Linux utilities, including rm. This allows rm to interpret '-f' as a literal filename rather than the '--force' option, enabling its deletion.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
rm \-f
Why it's wrong here
Backslash escapes the hyphen but rm still interprets -f as an option.
rm -- -f
Why this is correct
-- ends option parsing, so -f is treated as a filename.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "which command" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
rm -f
Why it's wrong here
rm -f treats -f as a force flag, not a filename.
rm "-f"
Why it's wrong here
Quotes do not prevent option parsing; rm still sees -f as a flag.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates assume quoting or escaping the dash will prevent option parsing, but only the '--' separator reliably tells rm to stop interpreting arguments as options.
Detailed technical explanation
The '--' double dash is a POSIX convention for option terminator, supported by rm and many other commands (e.g., cp, mv, ls). Without it, filenames starting with a dash are ambiguous and treated as options. In real-world scenarios, such files can be created accidentally by malicious scripts or typos, and using '--' is the safe, portable method to remove them.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A practitioner preparing for the EX200 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
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FAQ
Essential Tools — This question tests Essential Tools — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: rm -- -f — Option B is correct because the '--' double dash signals the end of command options to most Linux utilities, including rm. This allows rm to interpret '-f' as a literal filename rather than the '--force' option, enabling its deletion.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "which command". Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This EX200 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Red Hat certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the EX200 exam.
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