"rm -rf" equivalent for Windows?

cmd, windows, wsh

Solution

RMDIR or RD if you are using the classic Command Prompt (cmd.exe):

rd /s /q "path"

RMDIR [/S] [/Q] [drive:]path

RD [/S] [/Q] [drive:]path

/S Removes all directories and files in the specified directory in addition to the directory itself. Used to remove a directory tree.

/Q Quiet mode, do not ask if ok to remove a directory tree with /S

If you are using PowerShell you can use `Remove-Item` (which is aliased to `del`, `erase`, `rd`, `ri`, `rm` and `rmdir`) and takes a `-Recurse` argument that can be shorted to `-r`

rd -r "path"

Problem

I need a way to recursively delete a folder and its children. Is there a prebuilt tool for this, or do I need to write one? `DEL /S` doesn't delete directories. `DELTREE` was removed from Windows 2000+

Original source

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