rimraf
Advanced tools
Package description
The rimraf npm package is a Node.js module that provides a way to perform a deep deletion of files and directories, similar to the 'rm -rf' Unix command. It is designed to work on both Windows and Unix file systems, handling the intricacies of different environments. It is often used to clean up directories before rebuilding a project or to remove temporary files.
Asynchronous file and directory removal
This feature allows for the asynchronous removal of a directory and its contents. The provided code sample demonstrates how to use rimraf to delete a directory asynchronously. The callback function is used to handle any errors or to perform actions after the removal is complete.
const rimraf = require('rimraf');
rimraf('/path/to/directory', function (err) {
if (err) throw err;
console.log('Directory and its contents have been removed');
});Synchronous file and directory removal
This feature allows for the synchronous removal of a directory and its contents. The provided code sample demonstrates how to use rimraf to delete a directory synchronously. The operation will block the event loop until the removal is complete.
const rimraf = require('rimraf');
rimraf.sync('/path/to/directory');
console.log('Directory and its contents have been removed synchronously');Promisified file and directory removal
This feature allows for the removal of a directory and its contents using promises, which can be more convenient when working with modern asynchronous code patterns. The provided code sample demonstrates how to promisify the rimraf function and use it with then/catch for handling the resolution and rejection of the promise.
const rimraf = require('rimraf');
const { promisify } = require('util');
const rimrafPromise = promisify(rimraf);
rimrafPromise('/path/to/directory').then(() => {
console.log('Directory and its contents have been removed');
}).catch((err) => {
console.error('An error occurred:', err);
});fs-extra is a package that extends the built-in fs module with additional methods, including 'remove' and 'removeSync', which are similar to rimraf's functionality. It offers a broader set of file system operations, making it a more comprehensive choice for projects that require more than just file removal.
del is a package that provides file and directory deletion features with a promise-based API. It is similar to rimraf but offers more options for file selection and deletion, such as pattern matching. It is a good choice for users who prefer working with promises and need more control over what files to delete.
Readme
The UNIX command rm -rf for node.
Install with npm install rimraf, or just drop rimraf.js somewhere.
Promise instead of taking a callback.EBUSY fails to
resolve the situation.Hybrid module, load either with import or require().
// default export is the main rimraf function
import rimraf from 'rimraf'
// or
const rimraf = require('rimraf').default
// other strategies exported as well
import { rimraf, rimrafSync, native, nativeSync } from 'rimraf'
// or
const { rimraf, rimrafSync, native, nativeSync } = require('rimraf')
rimraf(f, [opts]) -> PromiseThis first parameter is a path or array of paths. The second argument is an options object.
Options:
preserveRoot: If set to boolean false, then allow the
recursive removal of the root directory. Otherwise, this is
not allowed.tmp: Windows only. Temp folder to use to place files and
folders for the "move then remove" fallback. Must be on the
same physical device as the path being deleted. Defaults to
os.tmpdir() when that is on the same drive letter as the path
being deleted, or ${drive}:\temp if present, or ${drive}:\
if not.maxRetries: Windows and Native only. Maximum number of
retry attempts in case of EBUSY, EMFILE, and ENFILE
errors. Default 10 for Windows implementation, 0 for Native
implementation.backoff: Windows only. Rate of exponential backoff for async
removal in case of EBUSY, EMFILE, and ENFILE errors.
Should be a number greater than 1. Default 1.2maxBackoff: Windows only. Maximum total backoff time in ms to
attempt asynchronous retries in case of EBUSY, EMFILE, and
ENFILE errors. Default 200. With the default 1.2 backoff
rate, this results in 14 retries, with the final retry being
delayed 33ms.retryDelay: Native only. Time to wait between retries, using
linear backoff. Default 100.Any other options are provided to the native Node.js fs.rm implementation
when that is used.
This will attempt to choose the best implementation, based on Node.js
version and process.platform. To force a specific implementation, use
one of the other functions provided.
rimraf.sync(f, [opts]) rimraf.rimrafSync(f, [opts])Synchronous form of rimraf()
Note that, unlike many file system operations, the synchronous form will typically be significantly slower than the async form, because recursive deletion is extremely parallelizable.
rimraf.native(f, [opts])Uses the built-in fs.rm implementation that Node.js provides. This is
used by default on Node.js versions greater than or equal to 14.14.0.
rimraf.nativeSync(f, [opts]) rimraf.native.sync(f, [opts])Synchronous form of rimraf.native
rimraf.manual(f, [opts])Use the JavaScript implementation appropriate for your operating system.
rimraf.manualSync(f, [opts]) rimraf.manualSync(f, opts)Synchronous form of rimraf.manual()
rimraf.windows(f, [opts])JavaScript implementation of file removal appropriate for Windows
platforms. Works around unlink and rmdir not being atomic
operations, and EPERM when deleting files with certain
permission modes.
First deletes all non-directory files within the tree, and then
removes all directories, which should ideally be empty by that
time. When an ENOTEMPTY is raised in the second pass, falls
back to the rimraf.moveRemove strategy as needed.
rimraf.windows.sync(path, [opts]) rimraf.windowsSync(path, [opts])Synchronous form of rimraf.windows()
rimraf.moveRemove(path, [opts])Moves all files and folders to the parent directory of path
with a temporary filename prior to attempting to remove them.
Note that, in cases where the operation fails, this may leave
files lying around in the parent directory with names like
.file-basename.txt.0.123412341. Until the Windows kernel
provides a way to perform atomic unlink and rmdir operations,
this is unfortunately unavoidable.
To move files to a different temporary directory other than the
parent, provide opts.tmp. Note that this must be on the same
physical device as the folder being deleted, or else the
operation will fail.
This is the slowest strategy, but most reliable on Windows
platforms. Used as a last-ditch fallback by rimraf.windows().
rimraf.moveRemove.sync(path, [opts]) rimraf.moveRemoveSync(path, [opts])Synchronous form of rimraf.moveRemove()
Usage: rimraf <path> [<path> ...]
Deletes all files and folders at "path", recursively.
Options:
-- Treat all subsequent arguments as paths
-h --help Display this usage info
--preserve-root Do not remove '/' recursively (default)
--no-preserve-root Do not treat '/' specially
--impl=<type> Specify the implementationt to use.
rimraf: choose the best option
native: the C++ implementation in Node.js
manual: the platform-specific JS implementation
posix: the Posix JS implementation
windows: the Windows JS implementation
move-remove: a slower Windows JS fallback implementation
Implementation-specific options:
--tmp=<path> Folder to hold temp files for 'move-remove' implementation
--max-retries=<n> maxRetries for the 'native' and 'windows' implementations
--retry-delay=<n> retryDelay for the 'native' implementation, default 100
--backoff=<n> Exponential backoff factor for retries (default: 1.2)
If you need to create a directory recursively, check out mkdirp.
FAQs
A deep deletion module for node (like `rm -rf`)
The npm package rimraf receives a total of 84,771,865 weekly downloads. As such, rimraf popularity was classified as popular.
We found that rimraf demonstrated a healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released less than a year ago. It has 1 open source maintainer collaborating on the project.
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