Remove-Item (Microsoft.PowerShell.Management) - PowerShell (2023)

Syntax

Remove-Item [-Path] <String[]> [-Filter <String>] [-Include <String[]>] [-Exclude <String[]>] [-Recurse] [-Force] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [-Stream <String[]>] [<CommonParameters>]

Remove-Item -LiteralPath <String[]> [-Filter <String>] [-Include <String[]>] [-Exclude <String[]>] [-Recurse] [-Force] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [-Stream <String[]>] [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Remove-Item cmdlet deletes one or more items. Because it is supported by many providers, itcan delete many different types of items, including files, folders, registry keys, variables,aliases, and functions.

Examples

Example 1: Delete files that have any file name extension

This example deletes all of the files that have names that include a dot (.) from the C:\Testfolder. Because the command specifies a dot, the command does not delete folders or files that haveno file name extension.

Remove-Item C:\Test\*.*

Example 2: Delete some of the document files in a folder

This example deletes from the current folder all files that have a .doc file name extension and aname that does not include *1*.

Remove-Item * -Include *.doc -Exclude *1*

It uses the wildcard character (*) to specify the contents of the current folder. It uses theInclude and Exclude parameters to specify the files to delete.

Example 3: Delete hidden, read-only files

This command deletes a file that is both hidden and read-only.

Remove-Item -Path C:\Test\hidden-RO-file.txt -Force

It uses the Path parameter to specify the file. It uses the Forceparameter to delete it. Without Force, you cannot delete read-only orhidden files.

Example 4: Delete files in subfolders recursively

This command deletes all of the CSV files in the current folder and all subfolders recursively.

Because the Recurse parameter in Remove-Item has a known issue, the command in this exampleuses Get-ChildItem to get the desired files, and then uses the pipeline operator to pass them toRemove-Item.

Get-ChildItem * -Include *.csv -Recurse | Remove-Item

In the Get-ChildItem command, Path has a value of (*), which represents the contents of thecurrent folder. It uses Include to specify the CSV file type, and it uses Recurse to makethe retrieval recursive. If you try to specify the file type in the path, such as -Path *.csv, thecmdlet interprets the subject of the search to be a file that has no child items, and Recursefails.

Example 5: Delete subkeys recursively

This command deletes the "OldApp" registry key and all its subkeys and values. It uses Remove-Itemto remove the key. The path is specified, but the optional parameter name (Path) is omitted.

The Recurse parameter deletes all of the contents of the "OldApp" key recursively. If the keycontains subkeys and you omit the Recurse parameter, you are prompted to confirm that you wantto delete the contents of the key.

Remove-Item HKLM:\Software\MyCompany\OldApp -Recurse

Example 6: Deleting files with special characters

The following example shows how to delete files that contain special characters like brackets orparentheses.

Get-ChildItemDirectory: C:\temp\DownloadsMode LastWriteTime Length Name---- ------------- ------ -----a--- 6/1/2018 12:19 PM 1362 myFile.txt-a--- 6/1/2018 12:30 PM 1132 myFile[1].txt-a--- 6/1/2018 12:19 PM 1283 myFile[2].txt-a--- 6/1/2018 12:19 PM 1432 myFile[3].txtGet-ChildItem | Where-Object Name -Like '*`[*'Directory: C:\temp\DownloadsMode LastWriteTime Length Name---- ------------- ------ -----a--- 6/1/2018 12:30 PM 1132 myFile[1].txt-a--- 6/1/2018 12:19 PM 1283 myFile[2].txt-a--- 6/1/2018 12:19 PM 1432 myFile[3].txtGet-ChildItem | Where-Object Name -Like '*`[*' | ForEach-Object { Remove-Item -LiteralPath $_.Name }Get-ChildItemDirectory: C:\temp\DownloadsMode LastWriteTime Length Name---- ------------- ------ -----a--- 6/1/2018 12:19 PM 1362 myFile.txt

Example 7: Remove an alternate data stream

This example shows how to use the Stream dynamic parameter of the Remove-Item cmdlet to deletean alternate data stream. The stream parameter is introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

Get-Item C:\Test\Copy-Script.ps1 -Stream Zone.IdentifierFileName: \\C:\Test\Copy-Script.ps1Stream Length------ ------Zone.Identifier 26Remove-Item C:\Test\Copy-Script.ps1 -Stream Zone.IdentifierGet-Item C:\Test\Copy-Script.ps1 -Stream Zone.IdentifierGet-Item : Could not open alternate data stream 'Zone.Identifier' of file 'C:\Test\Copy-Script.ps1'.

The Stream parameter Get-Item gets the Zone.Identifier stream of the Copy-Script.ps1file. Remove-Item uses the Stream parameter to remove the Zone.Identifier stream of thefile. Finally, the Get-Item cmdlet shows that the Zone.Identifier stream was deleted.

Parameters

-Confirm

-Credential

-Exclude

-Filter

-Force

-Include

-LiteralPath

-Path

-Recurse

-Stream

-WhatIf

Inputs

String

You can pipe a string that contains a path, but not a literal path, to this cmdlet.

Outputs

None

This cmdlet returns no output.

Notes

PowerShell includes the following aliases for Remove-Item:

• All platforms:
  • del
  • erase
  • rd
  • ri
• Windows:
  • rm
  • rmdir

The Remove-Item cmdlet is designed to work with the data exposed by any provider. To list theproviders available in your session, type Get-PsProvider. For more information, seeabout_Providers.

When you try to delete a folder that contains items without using the Recurse parameter, thecmdlet prompts for confirmation. Using -Confirm:$false does not suppress the prompt. This is bydesign.

• Clear-Item
• Copy-Item
• Get-Item
• Invoke-Item
• Move-Item
• New-Item
• Remove-ItemProperty
• Rename-Item
• Set-Item
• about_Providers
• about_Preference_Variables
• about_Functions_CmdletBindingAttribute