Java better way to delete file if exists

We need to call file.exists() before file.delete() before we can delete a file E.g.

 File file = ...;
 if (file.exists()){
     file.delete();
 }  

Currently in all our project we create a static method in some util class to wrap this code. Is there some other way to achieve the same , so that we not need to copy our utils file in every other project.

Starting from Java 7 you can use deleteIfExists that returns a boolean (or throw an Exception) depending on whether a file was deleted or not. This method may not be atomic with respect to other file system operations. Moreover if a file is in use by JVM/other program then on some operating system it will not be able to remove it. Every file can be converted to path via toPath method . E.g.

File file = ...;
boolean result = Files.deleteIfExists(file.toPath()); //surround it in try catch block

file.delete();

if the file doesn't exist, it will return false.

There's also the Java 7 solution, using the new(ish) Path abstraction:

Path fileToDeletePath = Paths.get("fileToDelete_jdk7.txt");
Files.delete(fileToDeletePath);

Hope this helps.

Apache Commons IO's FileUtils offers FileUtils.deleteQuietly:

> Deletes a file, never throwing an exception. If file is a directory, delete it and all sub-directories. > The difference between File.delete() and this method are: > > * A directory to be deleted does not have to be empty. > * No exceptions are thrown when a file or directory cannot be deleted.

This offers a one-liner delete call that won't complain if the file fails to be deleted:

FileUtils.deleteQuietly(new File("test.txt"));

I was working on this type of function, maybe this will interests some of you ...

public boolean deleteFile(File file) throws IOException {
	if (file != null) {
		if (file.isDirectory()) {
			File[] files = file.listFiles();

			for (File f: files) {
				deleteFile(f);
			}
		}
		return Files.deleteIfExists(file.toPath());
	}
	return false;
}

Use the below statement to delete any files:

FileUtils.forceDelete(FilePath);

Note: Use exception handling codes if you want to use.

Use Apache Commons FileUtils.deleteDirectory() or FileUtils.forceDelete() to log exceptions in case of any failures,

or FileUtils.deleteQuietly() if you're not concerned about exceptions thrown.

if you have the file inside a dirrectory called uploads in your project. bellow code can be used.

Path root = Paths.get("uploads");
File existingFile = new File(this.root.resolve("img.png").toUri());

if (existingFile.exists() && existingFile.isFile()) {
     existingFile.delete();
   }

OR

If it is inside a different directory this solution can be used.

File existingFile = new File("D:\\<path>\\img.png");

if (existingFile.exists() && existingFile.isFile()) {
    existingFile.delete();
  }

Generally We create the File object and check if File Exist then delete.

File f1 = new File("answer.txt");
if(f1.exists()) { 
    f1.delete();
}

OR

File f2 = new File("answer.txt");
f2.deleteOnExit();

If you are uses the Apache Common then below are the option using which you can delete file and directory

File f3 = new File("answer.txt");
FileUtils.deleteDirectory(f3);

This method throws the exception in case of any failure.

OR

 File f4 = new File("answer.txt");
 FileUtils.deleteQuietly(f4);

This method will not throw any exception.

This is my solution:

File f = new File("file.txt");
if(f.exists() && !f.isDirectory()) { 
	f.delete();
}

  File xx = new File("filename.txt");
    if (xx.exists()) {
       System.gc();//Added this part
	   Thread.sleep(2000);////This part gives the Bufferedreaders and the InputStreams time to close Completely
       xx.delete();     
    }