How to Delete Files and Folders Using Command Prompt on Windows 10

To delete files and folders using Command Prompt on Windows 10, you can use the following commands:

To delete a file:

Code snippet
del filename

For example, to delete the file “myfile.txt”, you would use the following command:

Code snippet
del myfile.txt

To delete a folder:

Code snippet
rmdir foldername

For example, to delete the folder “myfolder”, you would use the following command:

Code snippet
rmdir myfolder

To delete a folder and all of its contents:

Code snippet
rd /s foldername

For example, to delete the folder “myfolder” and all of its contents, you would use the following command:

Code snippet
rd /s myfolder

Note: When you delete a file or folder using Command Prompt, it is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. Be sure to double-check the name of the file or folder before you delete it.

Here are some additional tips for deleting files and folders using Command Prompt:

  • You can use the wildcard character (*) to delete multiple files or folders at once. For example, to delete all files with the .txt extension, you would use the following command:
Code snippet
del *.txt
  • You can use the /s switch to delete a folder and all of its subfolders. For example, to delete the folder “myfolder” and all of its subfolders, you would use the following command:
Code snippet
rd /s myfolder
  • You can use the /q switch to suppress the confirmation prompt when deleting a file or folder. For example, to delete the file “myfile.txt” without being prompted, you would use the following command:
Code snippet
del /q myfile.txt