ldapdelete(1)

NAME

       ldapdelete - LDAP delete entry tool

SYNOPSIS

       ldapdelete  [-n]  [-v] [-k] [-K] [-c] [-M[M]] [-d debuglevel] [-f file]
       [-D binddn] [-W] [-w passwd] [-y passwdfile] [-H ldapuri] [-h ldaphost]
       [-P 2|3] [-p ldapport] [-O security-properties] [-U authcid] [-R realm]
       [-x] [-I] [-Q] [-X authzid] [-Y mech] [-Z[Z]] [dn]...

DESCRIPTION

       ldapdelete  is  a  shell-accessible  interface  to  the  ldap_delete(3)
       library call.

       ldapdelete opens a connection to an LDAP server, binds, and deletes one
       or more entries.  If one or more DN  arguments  are  provided,  entries
       with those Distinguished Names are deleted.  Each DN should be provided
       using the LDAPv3 string representation as defined in RFC 2253.   If  no
       dn  arguments  are  provided, a list of DNs is read from standard input
       (or from file if the -f flag is used).

OPTIONS

       -n     Show what would be done,  but  don't  actually  delete  entries.
              Useful for debugging in conjunction with -v.

       -v     Use verbose mode, with many diagnostics written to standard out-
              put.

       -k     Use Kerberos IV authentication instead of simple authentication.
              It  is  assumed  that  you  already have a valid ticket granting
              ticket. This option only has effect if  ldapdelete  is  compiled
              with Kerberos support.

       -K     Same  as -k, but only does step 1 of the Kerberos IV bind.  This
              is  useful  when  connecting  to  a  slapd  and  there   is   no
              x500dsa.hostname  principal registered with your Kerberos Domain
              Controller(s).

       -c     Continuous  operation  mode.   Errors    are    reported,    but
              ldapdelete  will  continue  with  deletions.   The default is to
              exit after reporting an error.

       -M[M]  Enable manage DSA IT control.  -MM makes control critical.

       -d debuglevel
              Set the LDAP debugging level to debuglevel.  ldapdelete must  be
              compiled  with  LDAP_DEBUG  defined  for this option to have any
              effect.

       -f file
              Read a series of DNs from file, one per line, performing an LDAP
              delete for each.

       -x     Use simple authentication instead of SASL.

       -D binddn
              Use the Distinguished Name binddn to bind to the LDAP directory.

       -W     Prompt for simple authentication.  This is used instead of spec-
              ifying the password on the command line.

       -w passwd
              Use passwd as the password for simple authentication.

       -y passwdfile
              Use  complete  contents of passwdfile as the password for simple
              authentication.

       -H ldapuri
              Specify URI(s) referring to the ldap server(s).

       -h ldaphost
              Specify an alternate host on which the ldap server  is  running.
              Deprecated in favor of -H.

       -p ldapport
              Specify  an  alternate TCP port where the ldap server is listen-
              ing.  Deprecated in favor of -H.

       -P 2|3 Specify the LDAP protocol version to use.

       -r     Do a recursive delete.  If the DN specified isn't  a  leaf,  its
              children,  and all their children are deleted down the tree.  No
              verification is done, so if you add this switch, ldapdelete will
              happily delete large portions of your tree.  Use with care.

       -O security-properties
              Specify SASL security properties.

       -I     Enable  SASL  Interactive  mode.   Always prompt.  Default is to
              prompt only as needed.

       -Q     Enable SASL Quiet mode.  Never prompt.

       -U authcid
              Specify the authentication ID for SASL bind.  The  form  of  the
              identity depends on the actual SASL mechanism used.

       -R realm
              Specify  the  realm of authentication ID for SASL bind. The form
              of the realm depends on the actual SASL mechanism used.

       -X authzid
              Specify the requested authorization ID for SASL  bind.   authzid
              must be one of the following formats: dn:<distinguished name> or
              u:<username>

       -Y mech
              Specify the SASL mechanism to be  used  for  authentication.  If
              it's  not  specified, the program will choose the best mechanism
              the server knows.

       -Z[Z]  Issue StartTLS (Transport Layer Security) extended operation. If
              you  use  -ZZ, the command will require the operation to be suc-
              cessful.

EXAMPLE

       The following command:

           ldapdelete "cn=Delete Me,dc=example,dc=com"

       will  attempt  to  delete  the  entry  named   "cn=Delete   Me,dc=exam-
       ple,dc=com".   Of  course  it  would  probably  be  necessary to supply
       authentication credentials.

DIAGNOSTICS

       Exit status is 0 if no errors occur.  Errors result in a non-zero  exit
       status and a diagnostic message being written to standard error.

SEE ALSO

       ldap.conf(5),  ldapadd(1), ldapmodify(1), ldapmodrdn(1), ldapsearch(1),
       ldap(3), ldap_delete(3)

AUTHOR

       The OpenLDAP Project <http://www.openldap.org/>

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

       OpenLDAP  is  developed  and  maintained  by   The   OpenLDAP   Project
       (http://www.openldap.org/).   OpenLDAP  is  derived  from University of
       Michigan LDAP 3.3 Release.

OpenLDAP 2.2.30                   2005/11/18                     LDAPDELETE(1)