Unsafe rm -rf example in documentation

[osg]

At http://prometheus.github.io/docs/operating/storage/, the rm -rf $STORAGE_PATH/* example is unsafe.

Alternative:
rm -r ${STORAGE_PATH}

[juliusv]

I was thinking about this when writing it, but the problem is that we don't want to remove the directory itself, just its contents. Hmm...

[osg]

What happens when you test this on someone else's box:
cd <storage-path>
rm -r *

[grobie]

As this is just an example, there is no need to use an environment variable. The fact that storage path is supposed to be replaced by the actual content can be shown in a safer way as well, although not as elegant as with a bash variable. For example:

rm -rf /path/to/storage/*

[osg]

Note: The syntax within carrots (<>) is consistent with replaceable syntax on page http://prometheus.github.io/docs/concepts/data_model/#notation. That said, is the most consistent because it does not contain a hyphen.

[juliusv]

How about rm -rf <storage path>/*, because it's a single line and doesn't destroy anything, in contrast to the other suggestion where rm -r * will still destroy your current working directory if you accidentally execute it after the first one fails.

[juliusv]

(and most importantly, if someone just copies the line without replacing anything, it will result in a syntax error)

[juliusv]

Done.

[osg]

+1

[lock]

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