diff --git a/crates/nu-cli/src/shell/filesystem_shell.rs b/crates/nu-cli/src/shell/filesystem_shell.rs
index 76cb0ac230..c9d18f6e1f 100644
--- a/crates/nu-cli/src/shell/filesystem_shell.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-cli/src/shell/filesystem_shell.rs
@@ -596,9 +596,15 @@ impl Shell for FilesystemShell {
                 };
 
                 if let Ok(metadata) = f.symlink_metadata() {
+                    #[cfg(unix)]
+                    let is_socket = metadata.file_type().is_socket();
+                    #[cfg(not(unix))]
+                    let is_socket = false;
+
                     if metadata.is_file()
                         || metadata.file_type().is_symlink()
                         || recursive.item
+                        || is_socket
                         || is_empty()
                     {
                         let result;
@@ -620,7 +626,7 @@ impl Shell for FilesystemShell {
                         }
                         #[cfg(not(feature = "trash-support"))]
                         {
-                            result = if metadata.is_file() {
+                            result = if metadata.is_file() || is_socket {
                                 std::fs::remove_file(&f)
                             } else {
                                 std::fs::remove_dir_all(&f)