rm -r ~/ deletes public key

Observation

After I used rm -r ~/ to delete the temporary files inside my remote home directory, I can’t login through ssh any more. Error message: ssh permission denied (publickey)

Analysis

Lots of config files are put under user’s home directory, use ls -a to display these invisible config files.

Public keys are put under .ssh. By deleting all the files under home directory, I also cut down my own access to login again.

Learned

1. Don’t use rm -r ~/, it’s a very risky command. You will delete all of your keys and configs with this command. To make things worse, it’s possible to delete the /root with admin permission using this command.
2. Delete exact files instead, avoid –recrusive option. Or use -i to review the files to be deleted one by one.