Delete the specified items.
Syntax
Remove-Item { [-path] string[] | [-literalPath] string[] }
[-include string[]] [-exclude string[]] [-filter string] [-Stream String[]]
[-recurse] [-force] [-whatIf] [-confirm]
[-credential PSCredential] [-UseTransaction] [CommonParameters]
Remove-Item [-Stream string] [CommonParameters]
Key
-Path string
The path(s) to the items. Wildcards are permitted.
Use the wildcard (*) to specify all items in the current location.
-LiteralPath string
Like Path above, only the value is used exactly as typed.
No characters are interpreted as wildcards. If the path includes any
escape characters then enclose the path in single quotation marks.
-Include string
Include only the specified items from the Path. e.g. "May*"
this only works when the path includes a wildcard character.
-Exclude string
Omit the specified items from the Path e.g. "*SS64*"
this only works when the path includes a wildcard character.
-Filter string
A filter in the provider's format or language.
The exact syntax of the filter (wildcard support etc) depends on the provider.
Filters are more efficient than -include/-exclude, because the provider
applies the filter when retrieving the objects, rather than having
PowerShell filter the objects after they are retrieved.
-Recurse
Also delete child items from the specified location.
When used with -Include, -Recurse may not delete all subfolders or all child items.
This is a known issue.
As a workaround, try piping results of the `Get-ChildItem -Recurse` command to Remove-Item
-Force
Override restrictions that prevent the command from succeeding, apart from
security settings. e.g. -force will override a files read-only or hidden
attribute, but will not change file permissions.
The cmdlet cannot remove constant aliases or variables.
-Credential PSCredential
Use a credential to validate access to the file. Credential represents
a user-name, such as "User01" or "Domain01\User01", or a PSCredential
object, such as the one retrieved by using the Get-Credential cmdlet.
If you type a user name, you will be prompted for a password.
This parameter is not supported by any PowerShell core cmdlets or providers.
-Stream string
Delete the specified alternate data stream from a file, but do not delete the file.
Enter the stream name. Wildcards are supported. This parameter is not valid on folders.
Stream is a dynamic parameter that the FileSystem provider adds to the Remove-Item cmdlet.
This parameter works only in file system drives.
You can use the Remove-Item cmdlet to delete an alternate data stream. However, it is not the recommended way
to eliminate security checks that block files that are downloaded from the Internet. To verify that a
downloaded file is safe, use the Unblock-File cmdlet. PowerShell 3.0+
-WhatIf
Describe what would happen if you executed the command without
actually executing the command.
-Confirm
Prompt for confirmation before executing the command.
-UseTransaction
Include the command in the active transaction.
CommonParameters:
-Verbose, -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -WarningAction, -WarningVariable,
-OutBuffer -OutVariable.
Standard Aliases for Remove-Item: del, erase, rd, rm, rmdir, ri
When used with the -Include parameter, the -Recurse parameter might not delete all subfolders or all child items. This is a known issue. As a workaround, pipe `Get-ChildItem -Recurse` to Remove-Item
Remove-Item deletes one or more items. It can be used to delete many different types of items, including files, directories, registry keys, variables, aliases, and functions.
Examples
Remove a single folder:
PS C:\> remove-item .\foldertodelete -Force
Delete from the current directory (*) all files with a .doc file name extension and a name that does not include "1".
PS C:\> remove-item * -include *.doc -exclude *1*
Delete a file that is both hidden and read-only:
PS C:\> remove-item -path C:\Docs\hidden-RO-file.txt -force
Delete everything from a directory including the directory itself, without prompting the user. Also don't throw an error if the directory does not exist:
PS C:\> remove-item .\foldertodelete -Force -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Delete all items that include a dot (.) typically this will delete files and not folders, but this is not guaranteed, it is possible to create files without an extension and folder names that do contain a period:
PS C:\> remove-item C:\Docs\*.*
Delete all files in a folder and all its subfolders leaving the empty folders:
Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\Docs\' -File -Recurse -Force | Remove-Item -WhatIf
# you could also skip specific filenames with the -Exclude option.
Delete only a folder called ss64:
PS C:\> remove-item ss64 | Where { $_.PSIsContainer }
Delete only a file called ss64:
PS C:\> remove-item ss64 | Where { ! $_.PSIsContainer }
Delete all of the CSV files in the current directory and all subdirectories recursively, because remove-item -recurse is faulty this makes use of get-childitem -recurse instead:
PS C:\> get-childitem * -include *.csv -recurse | remove-item
Delete all content without deleting the folder itself:
PS C:\> Remove-Item "foldertokeep\*" -Force -Recurse
Delete ALL folders and files/subfolders below the current folder including hidden files:
PS C:\> Get-ChildItem -Recurse -force . | Remove-Item -force -recurse
Delete all EMPTY folders and files/subfolders below the current folder:
PS C:\> Get-ChildItem -Recurse . | where { $_.PSISContainer -and @( $_ | Get-ChildItem ).Count -eq 0 } | Remove-Item
Remove a variable called $myVar:
PS C:\> remove-item variable:myVar
Delete an alias named 'list':
PS C:\> Remove-item alias:list
Delete the 'demo' registry key and all of its subkeys and values:
PS C:\> remove-item hklm:\software\SS64\demo -recurse
“It devoured my paper, it was a really good paper” ~ Ellen Feiss
Related PowerShell Cmdlets:
Clear-item - Remove content from a variable or an alias.
Get-item - Return an object that represents an item in a namespace.
invoke-item - Invoke an executable or open a file (START).
Move-item - Move an item from one location to another.
New-item ni Create a new item in a namespace.
Set-item - Set the value of a provider pathname.
Rename-item - Change the name of an existing item.
Delete an 'undeletable' registry key - Idera.
Equivalent bash command: rm - Remove files.