Delete a directory and its files using command line but don't throw error if it doesn't exist

Question

I need a Windows command to delete a directory and all its containing files but I do not want to see any errors if the directory does not exist.

score 115 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 30 '21 at 20:17

115

Redirect the output of the del command to nul. Note the 2, to indicate error output should be redirected. See also this question, and especially the tech doc Using command redirection operators.

del {whateveroptions} 2>null

Or you can check for file existence before calling del:

if exist c:\folder\file del c:\folder\file

Note that you can use if exist c:\folder\ (with the trailing \) to check if c:\folder is indeed a folder and not a file.

edited Apr 30 '21 at 20:17

Čamo

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answered Jan 24 '13 at 13:36

GolezTrol

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Tried this i still get "The system cannot find the path specified" – jaywayco Jan 24 '13 at 13:38
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Force recursive deletion, ignore errors: `rmdir /s /q some\where\myFolder 2>nul` – crusy Jan 23 '19 at 14:29
@crusy Much appreciated, but that is the same answer (`rmdir` = `rd`) that dbenham already gave exactly _6 years_ ago – GolezTrol Jan 24 '19 at 12:11

score 73 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 24 '13 at 15:14

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Either redirect stderr to nul

rd /q /s "c:\yourFolder" 2>nul

Or verify that folder exists before deleting. Note that the trailing \ is critical in the IF condition.

if exist "c:\yourFolder\" rd /q /s "c:\yourFolder"

answered Jan 24 '13 at 15:14

dbenham

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@GolezTrol - Neither of you deleted the folder as requested by the OP. Both of you focused on deleting a file. – dbenham Jan 24 '13 at 15:38

score 40 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 12 '18 at 10:00

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For me on Windows 10 the following is working great:

if exist <path> rmdir <path> /q /s

q stands for "delete without asking" and s stands for "delete all subfolders and files in it".

And you can also concatinate the command:

(if exist <path> rmdir <path> /q /s) && <some other command that executes after deleting>

answered Oct 12 '18 at 10:00

toddeTV

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Concatinate helps me, otherwise it wont to work when `rmdir` paired with `if exist`. – noszone Jul 23 '21 at 11:37

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 24 '13 at 13:45

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You can redirect stderr to nul

del filethatdoesntexist.txt 2>nul

answered Jan 24 '13 at 13:45

Bali C

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Did you try this? This doesn't work. If it doesn't exist, I still see the error – dgo Jul 27 '17 at 00:42

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 24 '19 at 14:15

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The above comes up with Y or N in the prompt. So, I used the following instead and it works perfectly.

if exist cddd rmdir cddd

Hope this helps someone.

Cheers.

answered Oct 24 '19 at 14:15

Anjana Silva

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To avoid the prompt you have to add __/Q__ to the rmdir command. If you need to remove all files and subdirectories you need also __/S__. You didn't see the prompt probably because the directory was not there. – Bemipefe Jan 21 '20 at 13:12

Delete a directory and its files using command line but don't throw error if it doesn't exist

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