diff --git a/fs.h b/fs.h
index 35b5cf8..15ae5f4 100644
--- a/fs.h
+++ b/fs.h
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ struct recursor {
 enum {
 	SAMEDEV  = 1 << 0,
 	DIRFIRST = 1 << 1,
+	SILENT   = 1 << 2,
 };
 
 extern int cp_aflag;
diff --git a/libutil/recurse.c b/libutil/recurse.c
index de794f2..e2b8a6e 100644
--- a/libutil/recurse.c
+++ b/libutil/recurse.c
@@ -33,8 +33,10 @@ recurse(const char *path, void *data, struct recursor *r)
 	}
 
 	if (statf(path, &st) < 0) {
-		weprintf("%s %s:", statf_name, path);
-		recurse_status = 1;
+		if (!(r->flags & SILENT)) {
+			weprintf("%s %s:", statf_name, path);
+			recurse_status = 1;
+		}
 		return;
 	}
 	if (!S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)) {
@@ -53,8 +55,10 @@ recurse(const char *path, void *data, struct recursor *r)
 			return;
 
 	if (!(dp = opendir(path))) {
-		weprintf("opendir %s:", path);
-		recurse_status = 1;
+		if (!(r->flags & SILENT)) {
+			weprintf("opendir %s:", path);
+			recurse_status = 1;
+		}
 		return;
 	}
 
@@ -74,8 +78,10 @@ recurse(const char *path, void *data, struct recursor *r)
 				estrlcat(subpath, "/", sizeof(subpath));
 			estrlcat(subpath, d->d_name, sizeof(subpath));
 			if (statf(subpath, &dst) < 0) {
-				weprintf("%s %s:", statf_name, subpath);
-				recurse_status = 1;
+				if (!(r->flags & SILENT)) {
+					weprintf("%s %s:", statf_name, subpath);
+					recurse_status = 1;
+				}
 			} else if ((r->flags & SAMEDEV) && dst.st_dev != st.st_dev) {
 				continue;
 			} else {
diff --git a/libutil/rm.c b/libutil/rm.c
index 03bbafe..f6a54b6 100644
--- a/libutil/rm.c
+++ b/libutil/rm.c
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@
 #include "../fs.h"
 #include "../util.h"
 
-int rm_fflag = 0;
 int rm_status = 0;
 
 void
@@ -18,15 +17,15 @@ rm(const char *path, struct stat *st, void *data, struct recursor *r)
 		recurse(path, NULL, r);
 
 		if (rmdir(path) < 0) {
-			if (!rm_fflag)
+			if (!(r->flags & SILENT))
 				weprintf("rmdir %s:", path);
-			if (!(rm_fflag && errno == ENOENT))
+			if (!((r->flags & SILENT) && errno == ENOENT))
 				rm_status = 1;
 		}
 	} else if (unlink(path) < 0) {
-		if (!rm_fflag)
+		if (!(r->flags & SILENT))
 			weprintf("unlink %s:", path);
-		if (!(rm_fflag && errno == ENOENT))
+		if (!((r->flags & SILENT) && errno == ENOENT))
 			rm_status = 1;
 	}
 }
diff --git a/rm.c b/rm.c
index 139c020..9a63f8a 100644
--- a/rm.c
+++ b/rm.c
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
 	ARGBEGIN {
 	case 'f':
-		rm_fflag = 1;
+		r.flags |= SILENT;
 		break;
 	case 'R':
 	case 'r':
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	} ARGEND;
 
 	if (!argc) {
-		if (!rm_fflag)
+		if (!(r.flags & SILENT))
 			usage();
 		else
 			return 0;