diff --git a/crates/nu-cli/src/commands/rm.rs b/crates/nu-cli/src/commands/rm.rs
index a48adce27..e676cf946 100644
--- a/crates/nu-cli/src/commands/rm.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-cli/src/commands/rm.rs
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ pub struct RemoveArgs {
     pub recursive: Tagged<bool>,
     #[allow(unused)]
     pub trash: Tagged<bool>,
+    #[allow(unused)]
+    pub permanent: Tagged<bool>,
 }
 
 #[async_trait]
@@ -29,6 +31,11 @@ impl WholeStreamCommand for Remove {
                 "use the platform's recycle bin instead of permanently deleting",
                 Some('t'),
             )
+            .switch(
+                "permanent",
+                "don't use recycle bin, delete permanently",
+                Some('p'),
+            )
             .switch("recursive", "delete subdirectories recursively", Some('r'))
             .rest(SyntaxShape::Pattern, "the file path(s) to remove")
     }
@@ -48,7 +55,7 @@ impl WholeStreamCommand for Remove {
     fn examples(&self) -> Vec<Example> {
         vec![
             Example {
-                description: "Delete a file",
+                description: "Delete or move a file to the system trash (depending on 'rm_always_trash' config option)",
                 example: "rm file.txt",
                 result: None,
             },
@@ -57,6 +64,11 @@ impl WholeStreamCommand for Remove {
                 example: "rm --trash file.txt",
                 result: None,
             },
+            Example {
+                description: "Delete a file permanently",
+                example: "rm --permanent file.txt",
+                result: None,
+            },
         ]
     }
 }
@@ -67,7 +79,15 @@ fn rm(args: CommandArgs, registry: &CommandRegistry) -> Result<OutputStream, She
         let name = args.call_info.name_tag.clone();
         let shell_manager = args.shell_manager.clone();
         let (args, _): (RemoveArgs, _) = args.process(&registry).await?;
-        let mut result = shell_manager.rm(args, name)?;
+        let mut result = if args.trash.item && args.permanent.item {
+            OutputStream::one(Err(ShellError::labeled_error(
+                "only one of --permanent and --trash can be used",
+                "conflicting flags",
+                name
+            )))
+        } else {
+            shell_manager.rm(args, name)?
+        };
         while let Some(item) = result.next().await {
             yield item;
         }
diff --git a/crates/nu-cli/src/shell/filesystem_shell.rs b/crates/nu-cli/src/shell/filesystem_shell.rs
index b37886532..a423a00a3 100644
--- a/crates/nu-cli/src/shell/filesystem_shell.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-cli/src/shell/filesystem_shell.rs
@@ -485,6 +485,7 @@ impl Shell for FilesystemShell {
             rest: targets,
             recursive,
             trash: _trash,
+            permanent: _permanent,
         }: RemoveArgs,
         name: Tag,
         path: &str,
@@ -565,7 +566,8 @@ impl Shell for FilesystemShell {
                         let result;
                         #[cfg(feature = "trash-support")]
                         {
-                            result = if _trash.item {
+                            let rm_always_trash = config::config(Tag::unknown())?.get("rm_always_trash").map(|val| val.is_true()).unwrap_or(false);
+                            result = if _trash.item || (rm_always_trash && !_permanent.item) {
                                 trash::remove(f)
                                    .map_err(|e| f.to_string_lossy())
                             } else if metadata.is_file() {
diff --git a/docs/commands/config.md b/docs/commands/config.md
index 1bcd40e2e..07904f193 100644
--- a/docs/commands/config.md
+++ b/docs/commands/config.md
@@ -29,19 +29,21 @@ Syntax: `config {flags}`
 
 ### Variables
 
-| Variable           | Type                   | Description                                                         |
-| ------------------ | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| path               | table of strings       | PATH to use to find binaries                                        |
-| env                | row                    | the environment variables to pass to external commands              |
-| ctrlc_exit         | boolean                | whether or not to exit Nu after multiple ctrl-c presses             |
-| table_mode         | "light" or other       | enable lightweight or normal tables                                 |
-| edit_mode          | "vi" or "emacs"        | changes line editing to "vi" or "emacs" mode                        |
-| key_timeout        | integer (milliseconds) | vi: the delay to wait for a longer key sequence after ESC           |
-| history_size       | integer                | maximum entries that will be stored in history (100,000 default)    |
-| completion_mode    | "circular" or "list"   | changes completion type to "circular" (default) or "list" mode      |
+| Variable           | Type                   | Description                                                               |
+| ------------------ | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| path               | table of strings       | PATH to use to find binaries                                              |
+| env                | row                    | the environment variables to pass to external commands                    |
+| ctrlc_exit         | boolean                | whether or not to exit Nu after multiple ctrl-c presses                   |
+| table_mode         | "light" or other       | enable lightweight or normal tables                                       |
+| edit_mode          | "vi" or "emacs"        | changes line editing to "vi" or "emacs" mode                              |
+| key_timeout        | integer (milliseconds) | vi: the delay to wait for a longer key sequence after ESC                 |
+| history_size       | integer                | maximum entries that will be stored in history (100,000 default)          |
+| completion_mode    | "circular" or "list"   | changes completion type to "circular" (default) or "list" mode            |
+| no_auto_pivot      | boolean                | whether or not to automatically pivot single-row results                  |
+| complete_from_path | boolean                | whether or not to complete names of binaries on PATH (default true)       |
+| rm_always_trash    | boolean                | whether or not to always use system trash when no flags are given to `rm` |
 | pivot_mode         | "auto" or "always" or "never"                | "auto" will only pivot single row tables if the output is greater than the terminal width. "always" will always pivot single row tables. "never" will never pivot single row tables.            |
-| complete_from_path | boolean                | whether or not to complete names of binaries on PATH (default true) |
-| plugin_dirs        | table of strings       | additional directories to search for plugins during startup         |
+| plugin_dirs        | table of strings       | additional directories to search for plugins during startup               |
 
 ## Examples