Remove-Item

Deletes the specified items.

Syntax

Remove-Item [-LiteralPath] <string[]> [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Exclude <string[]>] [-Filter <string>] [-Force] [-Include <string[]>] [-Recurse] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [-UseTransaction] [<CommonParameters>]

Remove-Item [-Path] <string[]> [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Exclude <string[]>] [-Filter <string>] [-Force] [-Include <string[]>] [-Recurse] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [-UseTransaction] [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Remove-Item cmdlet deletes one or more items. Because it is supported by many providers, it can delete many different types of items, including files, directories, registry keys, variables, aliases, and functions.

Parameters

-Credential <PSCredential>

Specifies a user account that has permission to perform this action. The default is the current user.

Type a user name, such as "User01" or "Domain01\User01", or enter a PSCredential object, such as one generated by the Get-Credential cmdlet. If you type a user name, you will be prompted for a password.

This parameter is not supported by any providers installed with Windows PowerShell.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	true (ByPropertyName)
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Exclude <string[]>

Omits the specified items. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern, such as "*.txt". Wildcards are permitted.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Filter <string>

Specifies a filter in the provider's format or language. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. The syntax of the filter, including the use of wildcards, depends on the provider. Filters are more efficient than other parameters, because the provider applies them when retrieving the objects, rather than having Windows PowerShell filter the objects after they are retrieved.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Force

Allows the cmdlet to remove items that cannot otherwise be changed, such as hidden or read-only files or read-only aliases or variables. The cmdlet cannot remove constant aliases or variables. Implementation varies from provider to provider. For more information, see about_Providers. Even using the Force parameter, the cmdlet cannot override security restrictions.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Include <string[]>

Deletes only the specified items. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern, such as "*.txt". Wildcards are permitted.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-LiteralPath <string[]>

Specifies a path to the items being removed. Unlike Path, the value of LiteralPath is used exactly as it is typed. No characters are interpreted as wildcards. If the path includes escape characters, enclose it in single quotation marks. Single quotation marks tell Windows PowerShell not to interpret any characters as escape sequences.

Required?	true
Position?	1
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	true (ByPropertyName)
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Path <string[]>

Specifies a path to the items being removed. Wildcards are permitted. The parameter name ("-Path") is optional.

Required?	true
Position?	1
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	true (ByValue, ByPropertyName)
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Recurse

Deletes the items in the specified locations and in all child items of the locations.

The Recurse parameter in this cmdlet does not work properly.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before executing the command.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-WhatIf

Describes what would happen if you executed the command without actually executing the command.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-UseTransaction

Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress. For more information, see about_Transactions.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

<CommonParameters>

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Verbose, -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -OutBuffer, and -OutVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.

Inputs and Outputs

The input type is the type of the objects that you can pipe to the cmdlet. The return type is the type of the objects that the cmdlet returns.

Inputs

System.String

You can pipe a string that contains a path (but not a literal path) to Remove-Item.

Outputs

None

This cmdlet does not return any output.

Notes

You can also refer to Remove-Item by any of its built-in aliases, "del", "erase", "rmdir", "rd", "ri", or "rm". For more information, see about_Aliases.

The Remove-Item cmdlet is designed to work with the data exposed by any provider. To list the providers available in your session, type "Get-PsProvider". For more information, see about_Providers.

Example 1

C:\PS>remove-item C:\Test\*.*

This command deletes all of the files with names that include a dot (.) from the C:\Test directory. Because the command specifies a dot, the command does not delete directories or files with no file name extension.

Example 2

C:\PS>remove-item * -include *.doc -exclude *1*

This command deletes from the current directory all files with a .doc file name extension and a name that does not include "1". It uses the wildcard character (*) to specify the contents of the current directory. It uses the Include and Exclude parameters to specify the files to delete.

Example 3

C:\PS>remove-item -path C:\Test\hidden-RO-file.txt -force

This command deletes a file that is both hidden and read-only. It uses the Path parameter to specify the file. It uses the Force parameter to give permission to delete it. Without Force, you cannot delete read-only or hidden files.

Example 4

C:\PS>get-childitem * -include *.csv -recurse | remove-item

This command deletes all of the CSV files in the current directory and all subdirectories recursively.

Because the Recurse parameter in this cmdlet is faulty, the command uses the Get-Childitem cmdlet to get the desired files, and it uses the pipeline operator to pass them to the Remove-Item cmdlet.

In the Get-ChildItem command, the Path parameter has a value of *, which represents the contents of the current directory. It uses the Include parameter to specify the CSV file type, and it uses the Recurse parameter to make the retrieval recursive. 

If you try to specify the file type in the path, such as "-path *.csv", the cmdlet interprets the subject of the search to be a file that has no child items, and Recurse fails.

Example 5

C:\PS>remove-item hklm:\software\mycompany\OldApp -recurse

This command deletes the OldApp registry key and all of its subkeys and values. It uses the Remove-Item cmdlet to remove the key. The path is specified, but the optional parameter name (Path) is omitted. 

The Recurse parameter deletes all of the contents of the OldApp key recursively. If the key contains subkeys and you omit the Recurse parameter, you are prompted to confirm that you want to delete the contents of the key.