In this example, we are going to explain how to delete a file in Java. Of course, Java offers a very convenient API to perform deletion and creation. Most of them are placed inFile class. We are going to usedelete() methods that delete the file or directory. If the file is deleted successfully, the methods returnstrue, elsefalse. In order to delete a directory with this method, the directory has to be empty. JavadeleteOnExit() and NIOdeleteIfExists() methods are discussed in detail.

1. Using delete()

Here is how you can use File.delete() to delete a file.

JavaDeleteFileExample.java

The output of the code above when executed is presented below:

JavaDeletFileExample Output

apples-MacBook-Air:JavaDeleteFileExample bhagvan.kommadi$ javac DeleteFileExample.javaapples-MacBook-Air:JavaDeleteFileExample bhagvan.kommadi$ java DeleteFileExampleFile is deleted!apples-MacBook-Air:JavaDeleteFileExample bhagvan.kommadi$

2. Using NIO Files.delete

Most of the times you need not look any further for other ways to delete a file. But there is one problem with the above method. In case of an error, it is not informative enough about the reason of the failure. As you can see, it does not through any exceptions in case of an error. NIO’sFiles.delete(Path path) method offers that extremely useful feature.

Let’s see how you can use it:

JavaDeleteFileExample.java

Now when I run this program and"F:\\nikos7\\Desktop\\testFile.txt" does not exist in my system, here is theoutput I get:

So you get a very good idea of the reason your program failed. Of course, exception handling has many other advantages like error reporting, logging etc.

3. Java File.deleteOnExit() 

ThedeleteOnExit method of JavaFile is used for deleting the file or directory after the virtual machine stops. The path of the file or directory is the parameter of thedeleteOnExit method.c

DeleteFileOnExitExample Java

import java.io.File;public class DeleteFileOnExitExample {   public static void main(String[] args) {            File file = null;                  try {                  file = File.createTempFile("tmp", ".txt");                  System.out.println("File path is "+file.getAbsolutePath());                           file.deleteOnExit();                           file = File.createTempFile("tmp", null);                           System.out.println("File path is "+file.getAbsolutePath());                           file.deleteOnExit();                  System.out.println("File is deleted");      } catch(Exception exception) {                  exception.printStackTrace();      }   }}

The output of the code above when executed is presented below:

DeleteFileOnExitExample Output

 bhagvan.kommadi$ javac DeleteFileOnExitExample.java bhagvan.kommadi$ java DeleteFileOnExitExampleFile path is /var/folders/cr/0y892lq14qv7r24yl0gh0_dm0000gp/T/tmp6155322606838373720.txtFile path is /var/folders/cr/0y892lq14qv7r24yl0gh0_dm0000gp/T/tmp91851378978661388.tmpFile is deleted

4. NIO deleteifexists(Path p) 

ThedeleteIfExists method of the NIOFiles class is used to delete a file if it exists in the path. The path of the file is passed as the parameter of the method.The source code for deleteIfExists Example is presented below:

DeleteFileIfExistsExample Java

import java.io.IOException; import java.nio.file.*; public class DeleteIfExistsExample{ public static void main(String[] args) { try{ Files.deleteIfExists(Paths.get("file.txt")); } catch(NoSuchFileException exception) { System.out.println(" file or directory does not exists"); } catch(DirectoryNotEmptyException exception) { System.out.println("Directory not empty"); } catch(IOException exception) { System.out.println("Not valid permissions"); } System.out.println("Deletion success"); } }

The output of the code above when executed is presented below:

DeleteFileIfExistsExample Output

apples-MacBook-Air:JavaDeleteFileExample bhagvan.kommadi$ javac DeleteIfExistsExample.java apples-MacBook-Air:JavaDeleteFileExample bhagvan.kommadi$ java DeleteIfExistsExampleDeletion success

3. Download the Source Code

This was an example on how to delete a file in Java.

Last updated on Jul. 07th, 2020

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