removing a file when the filename starts with a dash

When you royally goof up a command, you may end up with some strange filenames.

$ echo "hi" > -oops.txt

And filenames that start with a dash can be tricky to delete.

$ rm -oops.txt
$ rm \-oops.txt
$ rm "-oops.txt"

All the above commands treat the -o as an option, and return the following error: rm: invalid option -- 'o'. Luckily, Ubuntu returns some extra help in the error message.

rm: invalid option -- 'o'
Try `rm ./-oops.txt' to remove the file `-oops.txt'.
Try `rm --help' for more information.

So all you need is a path on the front of that nasty filename.

$ rm ./-oops.txt