Command delete file windows command line

How to Delete Files Using Command Prompt and Command Line

Amy Dennis

Oct 13, 2020 • Filed to: Recover & Repair Files • Proven solutions

Regarding handling everyday tasks, the command line can turn out to be powerful as well as harmful. For instance, the rm command enables you to eliminate or delete files. The rmdir command works in the same manner for directories or folders.

However, you should be cautious because unlike transferring files from the Finder to the Trash, it is not possible to retrieve them if you utilize these commands. Still, in case you desire to make use of the Terminal’s powers, the command delete file is one command which you cannot ignore.

There are ways to include a safeguard to make sure that the only files you erase are truly the ones you want to delete.

Part1. Advantages of Erasing Files Using the Command Line

It is not complicated to delete files using the Finder and you are always able to recover files from Trash in case you want to change your mind. So why take the trouble to delete files using command prompt and command line?

Below are several reasons to delete files Using Command Prompt and Command Line:

• By making use of wildcards, you can erase multiple files fast and effectively.
• You can retrieve files from the trash when you come across immovable errors.
• You can erase files that are concealed in the Finder; these are files that might have settings for specific apps or sections of OS X, which consist of a dot (.) in front of their names, which are not displayed by Finder.
• In case your Mac is faulty and you do not have access to the Finder anymore, you can utilize the command line for troubleshooting the issue.

Part2. Deleting Files and Folders Using Command Prompt on Windows

Are you aware that it is possible to erase a file on Windows by making use of the Command Prompt? Below are some steps on how to go about it:

Steps

1. Begin from Start, and then proceed to All Programs, Accessories, and finally Command Prompt. You can alternately access the run dialog (WinKey and R) and key in ‘cmd’ but not with the quotes.

1. Type the file’s name and the extension. In case you are presently in the directory which contains the file, you are ready to proceed. In case you are not aware of what an extension file is, key in the file inside a kind of search box (this is determined by the computer you have and the kind of search available to you). Click on the right and find properties and it will be present on the key page. It will be the same as ‘C:/myfilename.ext.’

In case you are not in the appropriate directory, you can type ‘cd’ to the directory or key in the complete file path to be erased.

For instance, in case you want to erase ‘file.txt’ you need to key in ‘del file.txt.’ If the file is situated on the desktop, key in ‘C: /Users/username/Desktopfile.txt’ in case you are one directory on top.

1. DEL provides support for wildcards characters also, like an asterisk (*). For instance, in case you desire to delete every file on your desktop which has .wav extension, you should type ‘del C: Users/username/Desktop/*.wav.’ Deleting

Video Tutorial on How to Recover Deleted Files on Windows 10/8/7 Easily?

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Part3. Deleting files/folders using the command line on Mac

Erasing folders or directories varies a bit. If you attempt to operate the rm command on a folder, the message below will appear:

You can’t erase a directory utilizing the rm command. rmdir is a special command used to delete directories. Therefore, to erase a director called Archives, you need to operate the command below:

Part4: Deleting a Directory as well as Files in it

• The rm command provides a strong option (-R or –r) also referred to as the recursive option. After running the rm-R command on a directory, you are directing the Terminal to erase this folder, whatever files it has or sub-folders and any folders or files inside the sub-folders, all through.
• For instance, in case you possess a directory packed with archives that have files or directory, erasing every item one by one from the command line or Finder might consume a lengthy period. Therefore, simply operate the command as follows:

1. rm-R Archives
2. Keep in mind that this is a permanent decision. You can, however, make use of the –flag for security.
3. rm-iR Archives
4. This will request you to verify the deletion of every item.

Part5: Tips and Tricks for Using cmd delete file

In case you are unable to empty your Mac’s trash, the rm – R command is useful. A file may be locked or you might not be permitted to erase one or multiple files. This may be irritating; however, you can make use of the command line to get a simple solution.

1. Type as shown underneath in Terminal

• rm-R
• Type in a space
• Open Trash in Finder and drag the items inside to Terminal Window. You will view one or multiple files with paths like /Users/.Trash/file.txt.
• In case many files are present, you might discover that the list which comes up is all on a single lengthy line, enveloping the Terminal Window. In case you are very certain you want to delete each of these items, click on Return. The Trash will be emptied by Terminal.

2. Send the Output of a Command to the Clipboard

You will simply send the output straightaway to the clipboard.

From a folder, open the command prompt

You might have attempted to open the command prompt and encountered a lot of cd commands trying to access a folder. The good news is that you can save lots of time by using Explorer to open a command prompt inside a folder. You just need to hold shift, click right on a folder and the context menu will present the option.

Command History

Most probably, you might have been tapping the up key to access your earlier commands; this can be tiresome if you are attempting to get a specific command. Another method you can use to see your earlier command is using the donkey command.

If you lost data on your computer, don’t worry! You still have the chance to get lost data back. To recover files from the computer, you can have tried the file recovery tool.

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Command delete file windows command line

Delete one or more files.

If a folder name is given instead of a file, all files in the folder will be deleted, but the folder itself will not be removed.

Errorlevels: DEL will return an Errorlevel of 0, irrespective if the delete succeeds or fails for any reason.
(If you delete files using PowerShell then a True/False return code ( $? ) will be set correctly.)

Errorlevels

If the files were successfully deleted %ERRORLEVEL% = 0
Bad or no parameters given %ERRORLEVEL% = 1

Undeletable Files

Files are sometimes created with a very long filename or a trailing period or with reserved names (CON, AUX, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, PRN, NUL) and as a result they become impossible to delete with Windows Explorer.

To delete such files use the syntax: DEL «\\?\path to file»
You can also use «\\.\path to device «

e,g,
DEL «\\?\C:\some folder\AZH64GT.»
DEL «\\.\C:\Work\LPT1 «

Alternatively for long filenames, you can reduce the total path length by using SUBST to map a drive letter to the folder containing the file.

It is also possible to delete long paths using RoboCopy — Copy/Move the required files to a temporary folder and then delete the folder, one gotcha with that technique is RoboCopy’s tendency to follow symbolic links which can cause files outside the source folder to be moved/ deleted.

If a file is still ‘undeletable’ this may be caused by the indexing service, temporarily stop the service and then delete the file.

Permanent deletion

Deleting a file will not prevent third party utilities from un-deleting it again. Secure file deletion utilities are available, however for casual use, you can turn any file into a zero-byte file to destroy the file allocation chain like this:

TYPE nul > C:\examples\MyFile.txt
DEL C:\examples\MyFile.txt

Delete Locked files

Typically this is caused by the Offline Cache or Internet Explorer temp files.

Close all applications
Open a command prompt
Click Start, and then Shut Down
Simultaneously press CTRL+SHIFT+ALT.
While you keep these keys pressed, click Cancel in the Shut Down Windows dialog box.
In the command prompt window, navigate to the cache location, and delete all files from the folder (DEL /s)
At the command prompt, type explorer, and then press ENTER.

DELTREE — Older versions of Windows had the DELTREE command to delete all files and sub folders. This can be replicated with a script as shown on the DELTREE page.

Delete «Hello World.txt»

DEL «Hello World.txt»

Delete 3 named files:

DEL file1.txt file2.txt «C:\demo\file3.txt»

Delete all files that start with the letter A

Delete all files that end with the letter A

Delete all files with a .doc extension:

Delete all read only files:

Delete all files including any that are read only:

Normally DEL will display a list of the files deleted, if Command Extensions are disabled; it will instead display a list of any files it cannot find.

DEL is an internal command. ERASE is a synonym for DEL

“It devoured my paper, it was a really good paper” — Ellen Feiss

Related:

DELPROF — Delete user profiles.
DELTREE — Delete a folder and all subfolders/files.
RD — Delete folders or entire folder trees.
CleanMgr — Automated cleanup of Temp files, Internet files, downloaded files, recycle bin.
FORFILES — Delete files older than X days.
INUSE — updated file replacement utility (may not preserve file permissions)
Q120716 — Remove Files with Reserved Names.
Q320081 — You cannot delete a file or folder.
Q159199 — A file cannot be deleted (NTFS)
PowerShell: Remove-Item — Delete the specified items.
Equivalent bash command (Linux): rmdir / rm — Remove folders/ files.

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Delete files or folder recursively on Windows CMD

How do I delete files or folders recursively on Windows from the command line?

I have found this solution where path we drive on the command line and run this command.

I have given an example with a .svn file extension folder:

12 Answers 12

Please execute the following steps:

1. Open the command prompt
2. Change directory to the required path

Give the following command

The other answers didn’t work for me, but this did:

/q disables Yes/No prompting

/s means delete the file(s) from all subdirectories.

You can use this in the bat script:

Now, just change c:\folder a to your folder’s location. Quotation is only needed when your folder name contains spaces.

Note that you’ll be prompted if you’re really going to delete the «C:\tmp» folder. Combining it with /Q switch will remove the folder silently (ex. RMDIR «C:\tmp» /S /Q )

For file deletion, I wrote following simple batch file which deleted all .pdf’s recursively:

Even for the local directory we can use it as:

The same can be applied for directory deletion where we just need to change del with rmdir.

If you want to delete a specific extension recursively, use this:

The /p will prompt you for each found file, if you’re nervous about deleting something you shouldn’t.

Use the Windows rmdir command

That is, rmdir /S /Q C:\Temp

I’m also using the ones below for some years now, flawlessly.

Check out other options with: forfiles /?

Delete SQM/Telemetry in windows folder recursively

Delete windows TMP files recursively

Delete user TEMP files and folders recursively

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