Deleting all files in a folder in Python

Question

I am trying to make a program in Python that will delete all files in the %temp% path, also known as C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Temp.

How can I do this? I am using Python 3.4.

note: On POSIX, a temporary directory may have a sticky bit set: [*"When a directory's sticky bit is set, the filesystem treats the files in such directories in a special way so only the file's owner, the directory's owner, or root user can rename or delete the file."*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sticky_bit) i.e., you might not have permission to delete all files in the temporary directory. — jfs, Jul 02 '15 at 13:34
I don't believe this particular question is a duplicate as the OP is asking about temporary folder deletion. The linked answer doesn't reference the temp folder. For temp files, you can use the tempfile module. — drohm, Jul 02 '15 at 16:17
possible duplicate of [How to remove tempfile in python](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/30793080/how-to-remove-tempfile-in-python) — jezrael, Jul 03 '15 at 12:34

jfs · Answer 1 · 2015-07-03T17:36:52.853

In general, you could use shutil.rmtree() to delete all files/directories in a folder:

#!/usr/bin/env python
import shutil
import tempfile

dirpath = tempfile.mkdtemp()
try:
    # use the temporary directory here
    ...
finally:
    shutil.rmtree(dirpath) # clean up

The above can be written simpler if it is all you need (create a temporary directory from scratch):

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import tempfile

with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as dir:
    print(dir.name) # use the temporary directory here

Deleting all files in a folder in Python

1 Answers1