The UNIX command>)
Install with
All removal functions return a boolean indicating that all entries were successfully removed.
The only case in which this will not return
This first parameter is a path or array of paths. The second
argument is an options object.
Options:
Using a
The first argument to the filter is the path string. The second argument is either a
If a filter method is provided, it will only remove entries if the filter returns (or resolves to) a truthy value. Omitting a directory will still allow its children to be removed, unless they are also filtered out, but any parents of a filtered entry will not be removed, since the directory would not be empty in that case.
Using a filter method prevents the use of Node's built-in
Any other options are provided to the native Node.js
This will attempt to choose the best implementation, based on Node.js version and
Synchronous form of
Note that, unlike many file system operations, the synchronous form will typically be significantly slower than the async form, because recursive deletion is extremely parallelizable.
Uses the built-in
Synchronous form of
Use the JavaScript implementation appropriate for your operating system.
Synchronous form of
JavaScript implementation of file removal appropriate for Windows
platforms. Works around
First deletes all non-directory files within the tree, and then removes all directories, which should ideally be empty by that time. When an
Synchronous form of
Moves all files and folders to the parent directory of
Note that, in cases where the operation fails, this may leave files lying around in the parent directory with names like
To move files to a different temporary directory other than the parent, provide
This is the slowest strategy, but most reliable on Windows platforms. Used as a last-ditch fallback by
Synchronous form of
rm -rf
for node.Install with
npm install rimraf
.Major Changes
v4 to v5
- There is no default export anymore. Import the functions directly
import { rimrafSync } from 'rimraf
.v3 to v4
- The function returns a
Promise
instead of taking a callback. - Globbing requires the
--glob
CLI option orglob
option property
- Functions take arrays of paths, as well as a single path.
- Native implementation used by default when available, except on
- New implementation on Windows, falling back to "move then
EBUSY
fails to
resolve the situation.- Simplified implementation on Posix, since the Windows
- As of 4.3, return/resolve value is boolean instead of undefined
API
Hybrid module, load either withimport
or require()
.// 'rimraf' export is the one you probably want, but other
// strategies exported as well.
import { rimraf, rimrafSync, native, nativeSync } from 'rimraf'
// or
const { rimraf, rimrafSync, native, nativeSync } = require('rimraf')
All removal functions return a boolean indicating that all entries were successfully removed.
The only case in which this will not return
true
is if
something was omitted from the removal via a filter
option.rimraf(f, [opts]) -> Promise
This first parameter is a path or array of paths. The second
argument is an options object.Options:
preserveRoot
: If set to booleanfalse
, then allow the
tmp
: Windows only. Temp folder to use to place files and
os.tmpdir()
when that is on the same drive letter as the path
being deleted, or ${drive}:\temp
if present, or ${drive}:\
if not.maxRetries
: Windows and Native only. Maximum number of
EBUSY
, EMFILE
, and ENFILE
errors. Default 10
for Windows implementation, 0
for Native
implementation.backoff
: Windows only. Rate of exponential backoff for async
EBUSY
, EMFILE
, and ENFILE
errors.
Should be a number greater than 1. Default 1.2
maxBackoff
: Windows only. Maximum total backoff time in ms to
EBUSY
, EMFILE
, and
ENFILE
errors. Default 200
. With the default 1.2
backoff
rate, this results in 14 retries, with the final retry being
delayed 33ms.retryDelay
: Native only. Time to wait between retries, using
100
.signal
Pass in an AbortSignal to cancel the directory
Using a
signal
option prevents the use of Node's built-in
fs.rm
because that implementation does not support abort
signals.glob
Boolean flag to treat path as glob pattern, or an object
glob
options.filter
Method that returns a boolean indicating whether that
The first argument to the filter is the path string. The second argument is either a
Dirent
or Stats
object for that
path. (The first path explored will be a Stats
, the rest
will be Dirent
.)If a filter method is provided, it will only remove entries if the filter returns (or resolves to) a truthy value. Omitting a directory will still allow its children to be removed, unless they are also filtered out, but any parents of a filtered entry will not be removed, since the directory would not be empty in that case.
Using a filter method prevents the use of Node's built-in
fs.rm
because that implementation does not support filtering.Any other options are provided to the native Node.js
fs.rm
implementation
when that is used.This will attempt to choose the best implementation, based on Node.js version and
process.platform
. To force a specific implementation, use
one of the other functions provided.rimraf.sync(f, [opts])
rimraf.rimrafSync(f, [opts])
Synchronous form of rimraf()
Note that, unlike many file system operations, the synchronous form will typically be significantly slower than the async form, because recursive deletion is extremely parallelizable.
rimraf.native(f, [opts])
Uses the built-in fs.rm
implementation that Node.js provides. This is
used by default on Node.js versions greater than or equal to 14.14.0
.rimraf.nativeSync(f, [opts])
rimraf.native.sync(f, [opts])
Synchronous form of rimraf.native
rimraf.manual(f, [opts])
Use the JavaScript implementation appropriate for your operating system.rimraf.manualSync(f, [opts])
rimraf.manualSync(f, opts)
Synchronous form of rimraf.manual()
rimraf.windows(f, [opts])
JavaScript implementation of file removal appropriate for Windows
platforms. Works around unlink
and rmdir
not being atomic
operations, and EPERM
when deleting files with certain
permission modes.First deletes all non-directory files within the tree, and then removes all directories, which should ideally be empty by that time. When an
ENOTEMPTY
is raised in the second pass, falls
back to the rimraf.moveRemove
strategy as needed.rimraf.windows.sync(path, [opts])
rimraf.windowsSync(path, [opts])
Synchronous form of rimraf.windows()
rimraf.moveRemove(path, [opts])
Moves all files and folders to the parent directory of path
with a temporary filename prior to attempting to remove them.Note that, in cases where the operation fails, this may leave files lying around in the parent directory with names like
.file-basename.txt.0.123412341
. Until the Windows kernel
provides a way to perform atomic unlink
and rmdir
operations,
this is unfortunately unavoidable.To move files to a different temporary directory other than the parent, provide
opts.tmp
. Note that this must be on the same
physical device as the folder being deleted, or else the
operation will fail.This is the slowest strategy, but most reliable on Windows platforms. Used as a last-ditch fallback by
rimraf.windows()
.rimraf.moveRemove.sync(path, [opts])
rimraf.moveRemoveSync(path, [opts])
Synchronous form of rimraf.moveRemove()
Command Line Interface
rimraf version 4.3.0
Usage: rimraf <path> [<path> ...]
Deletes all files and folders at "path", recursively.
Options:
-- Treat all subsequent arguments as paths
-h --help Display this usage info
--preserve-root Do not remove '/' recursively (default)
--no-preserve-root Do not treat '/' specially
-G --no-glob Treat arguments as literal paths, not globs (default)
-g --glob Treat arguments as glob patterns
-v --verbose Be verbose when deleting files, showing them as
they are removed. Not compatible with --impl=native
-V --no-verbose Be silent when deleting files, showing nothing as
they are removed (default)
-i --interactive Ask for confirmation before deleting anything
Not compatible with --impl=native
-I --no-interactive Do not ask for confirmation before deleting
--impl=<type> Specify the implementation to use:
rimraf: choose the best option (default)
native: the built-in implementation in Node.js
manual: the platform-specific JS implementation
posix: the Posix JS implementation
windows: the Windows JS implementation (falls back to
move-remove on ENOTEMPTY)
move-remove: a slow reliable Windows fallback
Implementation-specific options:
--tmp=<path> Temp file folder for 'move-remove' implementation
--max-retries=<n> maxRetries for 'native' and 'windows' implementations
--retry-delay=<n> retryDelay for 'native' implementation, default 100
--backoff=<n> Exponential backoff factor for retries (default: 1.2)