Background

While running a script on Windows 10 I accidentally created a file literally called nul (no extension).
Because nul is a reserved device name in DOS/Windows, File Explorer and the classical del command refuse to remove it.

Popular but Ineffective Work-arounds

Search results usually recommend something like:

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rd /s \\.\C:\aux 
del \\.\C:\temp\nul.exe

Those commands leverage the Win32 “device namespace” (\\.\) to bypass the restriction.
Unfortunately they didn’t work for me—probably due to path, ACL or modern Windows internals.

The Working Solution: Git Bash

A comment on Stack Overflow saved the day. If you have Git for Windows installed:

1. Navigate to the directory that contains the troublesome nul file;

2. Right-click an empty area and choose “Git Bash Here”;

3. Run:

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   rm nul

   The file disappears instantly.

Why does it work?

rm shipped with Git Bash comes from MSYS2/MinGW and follows POSIX semantics,
so it treats nul as an ordinary filename instead of a special device, and performs a normal unlink syscall.

Takeaways

• Windows reserved names (con, prn, aux, nul, …) are legacy traps;
• When stuck, try deleting them from a POSIX-like environment such as Git Bash, MSYS2 or WSL;
• Better yet, never generate those names in scripts or code.

References

• Stack Overflow – “Delete a file named ‘NUL’ on Windows”