bwrb delete

Delete notes from your vault with safety checks and bulk mode support.

Synopsis

bwrb delete [options] [query]

Modes

Delete operates in two modes:

• Single-file mode (default): Delete a specific note by name/query
• Bulk mode: Delete multiple notes matching targeting selectors

Options

Targeting

Option	Description
-t, --type <type>	Filter by type
-p, --path <glob>	Filter by path glob
-w, --where <expr>	Filter by frontmatter expression (repeatable)
-b, --body <query>	Filter by body content search
-a, --all	Select all notes (required for bulk delete without other targeting)

Execution

Option	Description
-x, --execute	Actually delete files (default is dry-run for bulk)
-f, --force	Skip confirmation prompt (single-file mode)
--picker <mode>	Selection mode: auto, fzf, numbered, none
-o, --output <format>	Output format: text, json

Safety: Two-Gate Model

Bulk delete requires two explicit gates to prevent accidents:

1. Targeting gate: Must specify at least one selector (--type, --path, --where, --body) OR use --all
2. Execution gate: Must use --execute to actually delete (dry-run by default)

# Error: no targeting specified
bwrb delete
# "No files selected. Use --type, --path, --where, --body, or --all."

# Dry-run: shows what would be deleted
bwrb delete --type task

# Actually deletes
bwrb delete --type task --execute

Examples

Single-file Mode

# Delete specific note with confirmation
bwrb delete "My Note"

# Skip confirmation
bwrb delete "My Note" --force

# Scripting mode
bwrb delete "My Note" -o json --force

Bulk Mode

# Preview deletions (dry-run)
bwrb delete --type task

# Actually delete all tasks
bwrb delete --type task --execute

# Delete all notes in Archive
bwrb delete --path "Archive/**" -x

# Delete by content
bwrb delete --body "DELETE ME" --execute

# Delete with frontmatter filter
bwrb delete --where "status=archived" --execute

# Delete ALL notes (dangerous!)
bwrb delete --all --execute

Picker Modes

When query is ambiguous (single-file mode):

Mode	Behavior
auto	Use fzf if available, else numbered select (default)
fzf	Force fzf (error if unavailable)
numbered	Force numbered select
none	Error on ambiguity (for non-interactive use)

Recovery

Deletion is permanent. Use version control (git) to recover deleted notes if needed.

See Also

• bwrb bulk — Batch operations (non-destructive)
• Targeting Model — Selector reference