Delete files from directory inside Document directory?

Question

I have created a Temp directory to store some files:

//MARK: -create save delete from directory
func createTempDirectoryToStoreFile(){
    var error: NSError?
    let paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSSearchPathDirectory.DocumentDirectory, NSSearchPathDomainMask.UserDomainMask, true)
    let documentsDirectory: AnyObject = paths[0]
    tempPath = documentsDirectory.stringByAppendingPathComponent("Temp")

    if (!NSFileManager.defaultManager().fileExistsAtPath(tempPath!)) {

        NSFileManager.defaultManager() .createDirectoryAtPath(tempPath!, withIntermediateDirectories: false, attributes: nil, error: &error)
   }
}

It's fine, now I want to delete all the files that are inside the directory... I tried as below:

func clearAllFilesFromTempDirectory(){

    var error: NSErrorPointer = nil
    let dirPath = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.DocumentDirectory, .UserDomainMask, true)[0] as! String
    var tempDirPath = dirPath.stringByAppendingPathComponent("Temp")
    var directoryContents: NSArray = fileManager.contentsOfDirectoryAtPath(tempDirPath, error: error)!

    if error == nil {
        for path in directoryContents {
            let fullPath = dirPath.stringByAppendingPathComponent(path as! String)
            let removeSuccess = fileManager.removeItemAtPath(fullPath, error: nil)
        }
    }else{

        println("seomthing went worng \(error)")
    }
}

I notice that files are still there... What am I doing wrong?

Otherwise you will be left behind. You should always be at least using the apple store version — Leo Dabus, Sep 29 '15 at 09:20
That's because your code wont compile in most people's machines — Leo Dabus, Sep 29 '15 at 09:31
If you need ti delete all files and subfolder files you need to use enumeratorAtURL — Leo Dabus, Sep 29 '15 at 09:35
no but i need to delete all the files from document directory except a directory..is that possible? — , Sep 29 '15 at 09:37
`dirPath.stringByAppendingPathComponent("Temp")` not working in swift 3 — ami rt, Jun 09 '17 at 12:14

joern · Answer 1 · 2017-06-09T15:39:15.437

71

In case anyone needs this for the latest Swift / Xcode versions: here is an example to remove all files from the temp folder:

Swift 2.x:

func clearTempFolder() {
    let fileManager = NSFileManager.defaultManager()
    let tempFolderPath = NSTemporaryDirectory()
    do {
        let filePaths = try fileManager.contentsOfDirectoryAtPath(tempFolderPath)
        for filePath in filePaths {
            try fileManager.removeItemAtPath(tempFolderPath + filePath)
        }
    } catch {
        print("Could not clear temp folder: \(error)")
    }
}

Swift 3.x and Swift 4:

func clearTempFolder() {
    let fileManager = FileManager.default
    let tempFolderPath = NSTemporaryDirectory()
    do {
        let filePaths = try fileManager.contentsOfDirectory(atPath: tempFolderPath)
        for filePath in filePaths {
            try fileManager.removeItem(atPath: tempFolderPath + filePath)
        }
    } catch {
        print("Could not clear temp folder: \(error)")
    }
}

edited Jun 09 '17 at 15:39

answered Nov 26 '15 at 11:10

joern

27,354
7
90
105

Why do you concat "tempFolderPath" with "filePath" since "filePath is already the full path of the item listed in the folder ? Just do "try fileManager.removeItem(atPath: filePath)" is enough I think. – Lapinou Dec 02 '19 at 10:28
1

@Lapinou He is deleting contents of a folder. – Blind Ninja Feb 01 '20 at 10:31
@BlindNinja Yep indeed :) – Lapinou Feb 04 '20 at 12:11
1

@joern This answer saved me a ton of headaches!!!!!!! THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) – Lance Samaria Feb 12 '20 at 02:05

score 32 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 29 '15 at 09:26

Two things, use the temp directory and second pass an error to the fileManager.removeItemAtPath and place it in a if to see what failed. Also you should not be checking if the error is set but rather whether a methods has return data.

func clearAllFilesFromTempDirectory(){

    var error: NSErrorPointer = nil
    let dirPath = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.DocumentDirectory, .UserDomainMask, true)[0] as! String
    var tempDirPath = dirPath.stringByAppendingPathComponent("Temp")
    var directoryContents: NSArray = fileManager.contentsOfDirectoryAtPath(tempDirPath, error: error)?

    if directoryContents != nil {
        for path in directoryContents {
            let fullPath = dirPath.stringByAppendingPathComponent(path as! String)
            if fileManager.removeItemAtPath(fullPath, error: error) == false {
                println("Could not delete file: \(error)")
            }
        }
    } else {
        println("Could not retrieve directory: \(error)")
    }
}

To get the correct temporary directory use NSTemporaryDirectory()

thanks i get this error as Could not delete file: 0x0000000000000000 — , Sep 29 '15 at 09:33
Hmm that is a null pointer, can you get the path sorted in the `fullPath`? maybe there is an issue there. — rckoenes, Sep 29 '15 at 09:34
as per latest swift , use `try fileManager.removeItem(atPath: path) ` — Shrikant Phadke, Dec 09 '20 at 10:36

score 18 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 04 '18 at 19:54

Swift 4.0 example that removes all files from an example folder "diskcache" in the documents directory. I found the above examples unclear because they used the NSTemporaryDirectory() + filePath which is not "url" style. For your convenience:

    func clearDiskCache() {
        let fileManager = FileManager.default
        let myDocuments = fileManager.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).first!
        let diskCacheStorageBaseUrl = myDocuments.appendingPathComponent("diskCache")
        guard let filePaths = try? fileManager.contentsOfDirectory(at: diskCacheStorageBaseUrl, includingPropertiesForKeys: nil, options: []) else { return }
        for filePath in filePaths {
            try? fileManager.removeItem(at: filePath)
        }
    }

nice this is helpful for swift 4, can confirm it works! – VTS12 Mar 01 '18 at 02:39 — VTS12, Mar 01 '18 at 02:39

score 16 · Answer 4 · edited Oct 21 '16 at 22:02

Swift 3:

 func clearTempFolder() {
    let fileManager = FileManager.default
    let tempFolderPath = NSTemporaryDirectory()

    do {
        let filePaths = try fileManager.contentsOfDirectory(atPath: tempFolderPath)
        for filePath in filePaths {
            try fileManager.removeItem(atPath: NSTemporaryDirectory() + filePath)
        }
    } catch let error as NSError {
        print("Could not clear temp folder: \(error.debugDescription)")
    }
}

score 14 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 17 '18 at 03:48

14

Remove all files From Document Directory: Swift 4

func clearAllFile() {
    let fileManager = FileManager.default
    let myDocuments = fileManager.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).first!
    do {
        try fileManager.removeItem(at: myDocuments)
    } catch {
        return
    }
}

answered Dec 17 '18 at 03:48

Hiền Đỗ

526
6
14

4

How is this different from the 6 other answers that have been posted over the past 3 years? Add some explanation to show how this is a useful answer. – miken32 Dec 17 '18 at 04:08
This example is useful because it removes files from the documentDirectory and not the cache or tempDirectory. – forrest Oct 16 '19 at 20:24
Won't this remove the entire directory, not just its contents? – Christopher Pickslay Oct 20 '22 at 20:43

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Sep 27 '18 at 11:27

Create Temp Folder in Document Directory (Swift 4)

func getDocumentsDirectory() -> URL {
        //        let paths = FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask)
        //        return paths[0]

        let fileManager = FileManager.default
        if let tDocumentDirectory = fileManager.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).first {
            let filePath =  tDocumentDirectory.appendingPathComponent("MY_TEMP")
            if !fileManager.fileExists(atPath: filePath.path) {
                do {
                    try fileManager.createDirectory(atPath: filePath.path, withIntermediateDirectories: true, attributes: nil)
                } catch {
                    NSLog("Couldn't create folder in document directory")
                    NSLog("==> Document directory is: \(filePath)")
                    return fileManager.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).first!
                }
            }

            NSLog("==> Document directory is: \(filePath)")
            return filePath
        }
        return fileManager.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).first!
    }

Remove Files From Temp Directory: (Swift 4)

func clearAllFilesFromTempDirectory(){        
        let fileManager = FileManager.default
        do {
            let strTempPath = getDocumentsDirectory().path
            let filePaths = try fileManager.contentsOfDirectory(atPath: strTempPath)
            for filePath in filePaths {
                try fileManager.removeItem(atPath: strTempPath + "/" + filePath)
            }
        } catch {
            print("Could not clear temp folder: \(error)")
        }
    }

score 2 · Answer 7 · answered Dec 23 '20 at 06:37

After research, I find this perfect solution,

You can delete all files & folders, this will skip hidden files (for example, .DS_Store)

func clearCache(){
    let fileManager = FileManager.default
    do {
        let documentDirectoryURL = try fileManager.url(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask, appropriateFor: nil, create: false)
        let fileURLs = try fileManager.contentsOfDirectory(at: documentDirectoryURL, includingPropertiesForKeys: nil, options: .skipsHiddenFiles)
        for url in fileURLs {
           try fileManager.removeItem(at: url)
        }
    } catch {
        print(error)
    }
}

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Jan 09 '18 at 13:39

1

Using Files

https://github.com/JohnSundell/Files

    do {
        for folder:Folder in (FileSystem().documentFolder?.subfolders)! {
            try folder.delete()
        }
    } catch _ {
        print("Error")
    }

answered Jan 09 '18 at 13:39

dimohamdy

2,917
30
28

score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Jul 25 '21 at 09:38

Simple func to delete a file from app Documents folder.

func removeItem(_ relativeFilePath: String) {
    guard let documentsDirectory = FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).first else { return }
    let absoluteFilePath = documentsDirectory.appendingPathComponent(relativeFilePath)
    try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: absoluteFilePath)
}

Usage:

removeItem("path/to/file.txt")

Delete files from directory inside Document directory?

9 Answers9

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