How do you recursively delete all files and folders in a directory?

Question

Anubhav Kumar · Answer

To recursively delete all files and subfolders in a directory (but
not the root directory itself), you can use built-in APIs depending on your programming language. Here's how to do it in
C#, Java, Python, and 
Bash:
In C#
using System.IO;
public static void ClearDirectory(string path)
{
    if (!Directory.Exists(path))
        return;
    // Delete all files
    foreach (string file in Directory.GetFiles(path))
    {
        File.SetAttributes(file, FileAttributes.Normal); // in case of read-only
        File.Delete(file);
    }
    // Delete all subdirectories recursively
    foreach (string dir in Directory.GetDirectories(path))
    {
        Directory.Delete(dir, true); // true = recursive delete
    }
}
Keeps the root directory (path) intact.Handles nested folders and files.Use FileAttributes.Normal in case files are marked read-only.
In Java
import java.io.File;
public static void clearDirectory(File dir) {
    if (dir.exists() andand dir.isDirectory()) {
        for (File file : dir.listFiles()) {
            if (file.isDirectory()) {
                clearDirectory(file);
                file.delete();
            } else {
                file.delete();
            }
        }
    }
}
Call with: clearDirectory(new File("your/path")).
In Python
import os
import shutil
def clear_directory(path):
    if not os.path.isdir(path):
        return
    for filename in os.listdir(path):
        file_path = os.path.join(path, filename)
        if os.path.isdir(file_path):
            shutil.rmtree(file_path)
        else:
            os.remove(file_path)
Preserves the root directory.Use shutil.rmtree() for recursive folder deletion.
In Bash (Linux/macOS)
rm -rf /your/directory/path/*
Deletes all contents inside the folder, but not the folder itself.Be cautious — use echo to test paths before running rm -rf.
Tips
Always validate the path to avoid deleting unintended data.Use logging or user confirmation for destructive operations.

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How do you recursively delete all files and folders in a directory?

Ravi Vishwakarma

Can you answer this question?

1 Answers

In C#

In Java

In Python

In Bash (Linux/macOS)

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