Delete a directory and its files using command line but don't throw error if it doesn't exist
WindowsBatch FileCmdWindows Problem Overview
I need a Windows command to delete a directory and all its containing files but I do not want to see any errors if the directory does not exist.
Windows Solutions
Solution 1 - Windows
Redirect the output of the del command to nul. Note the 2, to indicate error output should be redirected. See also this question, and especially the tech doc Using command redirection operators.
del {whateveroptions} 2>null
Or you can check for file existence before calling del:
if exist c:\folder\file del c:\folder\file
Note that you can use if exist c:\folder\ (with the trailing \) to check if c:\folder is indeed a folder and not a file.
Solution 2 - Windows
Either redirect stderr to nul
rd /q /s "c:\yourFolder" 2>nul
Or verify that folder exists before deleting. Note that the trailing \ is critical in the IF condition.
if exist "c:\yourFolder\" rd /q /s "c:\yourFolder"
Solution 3 - Windows
For me on Windows 10 the following is working great:
if exist <path> rmdir <path> /q /s
q stands for "delete without asking" and s stands for "delete all subfolders and files in it".
And you can also concatinate the command:
(if exist <path> rmdir <path> /q /s) && <some other command that executes after deleting>
Solution 4 - Windows
You can redirect stderr to nul
del filethatdoesntexist.txt 2>nul
Solution 5 - Windows
The above comes up with Y or N in the prompt. So, I used the following instead and it works perfectly.
if exist cddd rmdir cddd
Hope this helps someone.
Cheers.