LDAPDELETE(1)                                                   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
              output.

       -k     Use  Kerberos  IV  authentication instead of simple authentica-
              tion.  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  direc-
              tory.

       -W     Prompt  for  simple  authentication.   This  is used instead of
              specifying 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 proxy 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
              successful.

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 2.1.29                   2003-03-26                    LDAPDELETE(1)