Deleting an Object with aws s3 rm

When you want to remove a file from S3, use aws s3 rm. It deletes the object you name.

The syntax is aws s3 rm s3://bucket/key. Add --recursive to delete everything under a prefix.

Running aws s3 rm s3://my-bucket/index.html deletes that object and prints delete: s3://my-bucket/index.html.

A common stumble is running a recursive delete against the wrong prefix. There is no confirmation prompt — check with --dryrun first.

In real work, deletions are usually handled by lifecycle rules that expire old data automatically, rather than by hand.