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Scripts to delete Files and Folders on Windows

When the number of files/folders in an organization increases, the administrators might need to delete outdated files. With more and more machines getting remote, admins find this task increasingly difficult. Hexnode lets admins handle this action via scripts on Windows devices.

Note:

Supported Versions:

The scripts given below will be supported on the following versions:

Windows 10 v1607+ (Pro, Enterprise, Education)
Windows 11 (Pro, Enterprise, Education)

Disclaimer:

The sample scripts provided below are adapted from third-party open-source sites.

To delete a file

Batch Script

del "filename_with_location.ext"

1	del "filename_with_location.ext"

E.g., To delete the file test.txt in the Desktop of the user Deborah,
del “C:\Users\Deborah\Desktop\test.txt”

PowerShell Script

remove-item "filename.ext"

1	remove-item "filename.ext"

E.g., To delete the file test.txt in the Desktop of the user Deborah,
remove-item “C:\Users\Deborah\Desktop\test.txt”

Notes:

The admin can also delete files older than a specific number of days.
The .bat script to delete .docx files that are older than 20 days from the location C:\Users\username\Documents\My Blogs is as follows:

@echo off forfiles /p "C:\Users\username\Documents\My Blogs" /s /m *.docx /d -20 /c "cmd /c del @path" echo Document files older than 20 days deleted 
pause 
exit

@echo off forfiles /p "C:\Users\username\Documents\My Blogs" /s /m *.docx /d -20 /c "cmd /c del @path" echo Document files older than 20 days deleted

pause

exit

The.ps1 script to delete files older than 20 days is as follows:

Write-Host "Starting cleanup of old files"

# Set target folder and age threshold
$path = "C:\Scripting\"
$DaysThreshold = "-20"

# Calculate cutoff date
$CurrentDate = Get-Date
$CutoffDate = $CurrentDate.AddDays($DaysThreshold)

# Find and delete files older than cutoff
$files = Get-ChildItem $path -Recurse -Filter *.bat | Where-Object {
    $_.LastWriteTime -lt $CutoffDate
}

foreach ($file in $files) {
    Remove-Item $file.FullName -Force
    Write-Host "Deleted file: $($file.FullName)"
}

Write-Host "Cleanup completed."

Write-Host "Starting cleanup of old files"

# Set target folder and age threshold

$path = "C:\Scripting\"

$DaysThreshold = "-20"

# Calculate cutoff date

$CurrentDate = Get-Date

$CutoffDate = $CurrentDate.AddDays($DaysThreshold)

# Find and delete files older than cutoff

$files = Get-ChildItem $path -Recurse -Filter *.bat | Where-Object {

$_.LastWriteTime -lt $CutoffDate

}

foreach ($file in $files) {

Remove-Item $file.FullName -Force

Write-Host "Deleted file: $($file.FullName)"

}

Write-Host "Cleanup completed."

To delete a folder

Batch Script

rmdir /Q/S "foldername_with_path"

1	rmdir /Q/S "foldername_with_path"

E.g., To delete a folder test in the Desktop of the user Deborah,
rmdir /Q/S “C:\Users\Deborah\Desktop\test”

Notes:

/S deletes all the files from the folder. /Q makes sure that the user is not asked for confirmation for deleting the folder.

Powershell Script

remove-item "foldername_with_path" -recurse

1	remove-item "foldername_with_path" -recurse

E.g., To delete a folder test in the Desktop of the user Deborah,

remove-item “C:\Users\Deborah\Desktop\test” -recurse

Notes:

The –recurse attribute ensures that all the files inside the folder are deleted.
It is recommended to manually validate the script execution on a system before executing the action in bulk.
Hexnode will not be responsible for any damage/loss to the system on the behavior of the script.

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