Remove all files, folders and their subfolders with php

Question

I need a script which can remove a whole directory with all their subfolders, files and etc. I tried with this function which I found in internet before few months ago but it not work completely.

function deleteFile($dir) {
    if(substr($dir, strlen($dir)-1, 1) != '/') { 
        $dir .= '/'; 
    }
    if($handle = opendir($dir)) { 
        while($obj = readdir($handle)) { 
            if($obj != '.' && $obj != '..') { 
                if(is_dir($dir.$obj)) { 
                    if(!deleteFile($dir.$obj)) {
                        echo $dir.$obj."<br />";
                        return false;
                    }
                }
                elseif(is_file($dir.$obj)) { 
                    if(!unlink($dir.$obj)) {
                        echo $dir.$obj."<br />";
                        return false;
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        closedir($handle); 
        if(!@rmdir($dir)) {
            echo $dir.'<br />';
            return false;
        }
        return true;
    }
    return true;
}

For the test I use a unpacked archive of prestashop and I try to delete the folder where archive is unpacked but it doesn't work.

/home/***/public_html/prestashop/img/p/3/
/home/***/public_html/prestashop/img/p/3
/home/***/public_html/prestashop/img/p
/home/***/public_html/prestashop/img

These are the problem folders. At the first time I think - "May is a problem with the chmod of the files" but when I test with all files chmod permission 755 (after that with 777) - the result was the same.

score 82 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 07 '23 at 16:05

82

<?php
  function rrmdir($dir) {
  if (is_dir($dir)) {
    $objects = scandir($dir);
    foreach ($objects as $object) {
      if ($object != "." && $object != "..") {
        if (filetype($dir."/".$object) == "dir") 
           rrmdir($dir."/".$object); 
        else unlink   ($dir."/".$object);
      }
    }
    reset($objects);
    rmdir($dir);
  }
 }
?>

Try out the above code from a comment on php.net

Worked fine for me

edited Jul 07 '23 at 16:05

gilad905

2,842
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answered Jul 23 '12 at 14:07

donald123

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This is really nice example. It does deletes files and subfolders. – Amir Md Amiruzzaman Dec 15 '14 at 20:21
5

Good answer Donald. I know it's obvious to most, but I think it needs saying: BE REALLY CAREFUL when using this function (or any other on this page). It can (and will) wipe out your entire site if you give it the wrong parameter. – Jamie G Apr 07 '15 at 14:06
Is there a way to detect that it successfully delete the folder? Like it returns true? – MeetMahPuppy Apr 16 '16 at 05:13
take a look at http://php.net/manual/en/function.rmdir.php **rmdir()** return bool ... so you can use it – donald123 Apr 18 '16 at 09:45
Why do i get: Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function rrmdir() ? – Björn C Sep 10 '20 at 07:49

score 10 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 21 '15 at 10:06

10

function delete_files($dir) { 
  foreach(glob($dir . '/*') as $file) { 
    if(is_dir($file)) delete_files($file); else unlink($file); 
  } rmdir($dir); 
}

answered Jan 21 '15 at 10:06

GIPSSTAR

2,050
1
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Add some text, you should at least say something, not just dump code. Even a "This should do the trick:" is fine. – sashoalm Jan 21 '15 at 10:34
If the initial folder is wrong, glob() returns false and you get an error. It's better to test 'if is_dir($dir)' as first instruction, maybe return true on success, false otherwise. Anyway it considers each entry. If it's a directory it's deleted with the recursive call 'delete_file' otherwise it's a file and it's deleted with unlink(). At the end the $dir is empty so it can be removed with 'rmdir'. – Fil Jul 04 '20 at 17:36

Addramyr · Answer 3 · 2012-11-18T14:00:57.897

You can use a cleaner method for doing a recursive delete of a directory.

Example:

function recursiveRemove($dir) {
    $structure = glob(rtrim($dir, "/").'/*');
    if (is_array($structure)) {
        foreach($structure as $file) {
            if (is_dir($file)) recursiveRemove($file);
            elseif (is_file($file)) unlink($file);
        }
    }
    rmdir($dir);
}

Usage:

recursiveRemove("test/dir/");

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered May 22 '15 at 10:38

3

The easiest and the best way using the system() method

$dir = dirname ( "/log" );
if ($handle = opendir($dir)) {
    while (( $file = readdir($handle)) !== false ) {
        if ($file != "." && $file != "..") {
            system("rm -rf ".escapeshellarg($dir.'/'.$file));
        }
    }
}
closedir($handle);

answered May 22 '15 at 10:38

Ale_

85
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If you have no access to the shell (as for many hosting services) I think you cannot use 'system' method. – Fil Jul 04 '20 at 17:29

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 23 '12 at 13:49

1

/**
 * Deletes a directory and all files and folders under it
 * @return Null
 * @param $dir String Directory Path
 */
function rmdir_files($dir) {
 $dh = opendir($dir);
 if ($dh) {
  while($file = readdir($dh)) {
   if (!in_array($file, array('.', '..'))) {
    if (is_file($dir.$file)) {
     unlink($dir.$file);
    }
    else if (is_dir($dir.$file)) {
     rmdir_files($dir.$file);
    }
   }
  }
  rmdir($dir);
 }
}

answered Jul 23 '12 at 13:49

jit

1,616
3
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Its the same function with a lot of errors :) – Jul 23 '12 at 13:58
not we can say with lot of errors as it worked for me but it's too dangerous function. – jit Jul 23 '12 at 14:03

Remove all files, folders and their subfolders with php

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