Python Tutorials · File Handling

Python Delete Files

Learn all about Python Delete Files in this comprehensive tutorial.

5 min read intermediate

•To delete a file, you must import the OS module, and run its os.
•To avoid getting an error, you might want to check if the file exists before you try to delete it:
•To delete an entire folder, use the os.

Delete a File

To delete a file, you must import the OS module, and run its os.remove() function:

python

import osos.remove("demofile.txt")

To avoid getting an error, you might want to check if the file exists before you try to delete it:

python

import osif os.path.exists("demofile.txt"):  os.remove("demofile.txt")
  else:  print("The file does not exist")

To delete an entire folder, use the os.rmdir() method:

python

import osos.rmdir("myfolder")

Note: Note: You can only remove empty folders.

2 questions

Which of the following is true about Python Delete Files?

It is strictly typedIt is evaluated at runtimeIt requires explicit memory managementIt is deprecated

What is the most common pitfall when working with Python Delete Files?

SyntaxErrorIndentationErrorNameErrorTypeError

Answer all questions to submit.