In , you can delete files inside a nested folder by utilizing the (file system) module. The module provides various methods for interacting with the file system, including deleting files. Node.js fs fs Disclaimer: The module code examples were generated by AI, and work as intended for the goal of this post. fs But before we continue, let's talk about the functions provided by the fs, that we can use to accomplish our goal in this post. In order to delete a file or files in a nested directory we will need to use the following functions and methods provided by the module: fs : Used to delete a file. fs.unlink() : Used to read the contents of a directory. fs.readdir() : Used to retrieve the metadata of a file or directory. fs.stat() : Used to check if a path represents a file. stats.isFile() : Used to check if a path represents a directory. stats.isDirectory() : Used to remove an empty directory. fs.rmdir() By utilizing these functions and methods together, you can recursively navigate through the nested folder structure, identify files and directories, and delete the desired files accordingly. For new developers that want to know more about these methods, let’s talk about them with a few examples before moving to our main goal of this post. The module in Node.js provides an for interacting with the file system. It offers a wide range of functions to perform file-related operations, such as reading, writing, deleting, and modifying files and directories. fs API fs.unlink(path, callback) The function is used to asynchronously delete a file specified by the parameter. fs.unlink() path It requires a callback function that will be called after the file is deleted or if an error occurs during the deletion. Example: fs.unlink('/path/to/file.txt', (err) => {
  if (err) {
    console.error(err);
    return;
  }
  console.log('File deleted successfully');
}); fs.readdir(path, callback) The function is used to asynchronously read the contents of a directory specified by the parameter. fs.readdir() path It returns an array of filenames present in the directory. Example: fs.readdir('/path/to/directory', (err, files) => {
  if (err) {
    console.error(err);
    return;
  }
  console.log('Files in directory:', files); // Shows all the files in the directory.
}); fs.stat(path, callback) The function is used to asynchronously retrieve the metadata of a file or directory specified by the parameter. fs.stat() path It provides information about the file, such as its , , and . size permissions timestamps Example: fs.stat('/path/to/file.txt', (err, stats) => {
  if (err) {
    console.error(err);
    return;
  }
  console.log('File size:', stats.size);
  console.log('Last modified:', stats.mtime);
}); stats.isFile() The method is used to check if a file exists at the specified path. It returns if the path represents a file; otherwise, it returns . stats.isFile() true false Example: fs.stat('/path/to/file.txt', (err, stats) => {
  if (err) {
    console.error(err);
    return;
  }
  if (stats.isFile()) {
    console.log('The path is a file'); //Returns true, if a file exist in the path defined
  } else {
    console.log('The path is not a file');//Returns false, if there's no in the defined path.
  }
}); stats.isDirectory() The method is used to check if a directory exists at the specified path. It returns if the path represents a directory; otherwise, it returns . stats.isDirectory() true false Example: fs.stat('/path/to/directory', (err, stats) => {
  if (err) {
    console.error(err);
    return;
  }
  if (stats.isDirectory()) {
    console.log('The path is a directory'); // Return true, if the path defined is a directory, and nothing else.
  } else {
    console.log('The path is not a directory'); // Returns false if the path defined is not directory. menaing the path defined doesn't exist.
  }
}); fs.rmdir(path, callback) The function is used to asynchronously remove an empty directory specified by the parameter. fs.rmdir() path It requires a callback function that will be called after the directory is removed or if an error occurs during the removal. Example: fs.rmdir('/path/to/empty-directory', (err) => {
  if (err) {
    console.error(err);
    return;
  }
  console.log('Directory removed successfully');
}); That’s all, now you have a solid or some understanding of in general. So let’s move on to the main goal, which is to delete nested files. fs import fs from 'fs'
import path from 'path'

const directory = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'src', 'uploads', 'images')
const file_to_delete = '1676410030129-screen.webp' A breakdown of the code above: Importing the modules: import fs from 'fs';
import path from 'path'; We talked about the module, while the module provides utilities for working with file and directory paths. fs path Defining the directory and file to delete: const directory = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'src', 'uploads', 'images');
const file_to_delete = '1676410030129-screen.webp'; The variable represents the path to the directory where the file is located. It uses the method to construct the full path based on the current directory ( ) and the relative path segments ( ). directory path.join() __dirname '..', 'src', 'uploads', 'images' The variable contains the name of the file that you want to delete. file_to_delete Inside the and are in a subfolder structure. src folder, the uploads , images src
 ├── controllers
 ├── models
 ├── uploads
 │   ├── images
 │   │   └── 1676410030129-screen.webp
 │   ├── audio
 │   └── videos
 └── index.js Here is a breakdown of our folder structure: The top-level directory is , which typically contains the source code for a project. src Inside the directory, there are several subdirectories: src and are likely directories where the application's controllers and models are stored, respectively. These directories might contain code files related to the application's business logic and data models. controllers models The directory is a directory used for storing uploaded files. uploads Inside the directory, there are subdirectories: uploads directory, which contains the file . This file is the one you want to delete. images 1676410030129-screen.webp directory, which may contain audio files. audio directory, which may contain video files. videos Finally, there is an file, which is likely the entry point or main file of the application. index.js Overall, this folder structure suggests that the application follows a modular organization, separating controllers, models, and uploaded files into their respective directories under the folder. src This is the whole code for deleting a file in a nested directory, but we are going to take it step by step, in the beginner approach. fs.readdir(f, (error, files) => {
if (error) throw new Error('Could not read directory');

files.forEach((file) => {
const file_path = path.join(f, file);
console.log(file_path);

fs.stat(file_path, (error, stat) => {
  if (error) throw new Error('File do not exist');

  if(stat.isDirectory()){
    console.log('The file is actually a directory')
  }else if (file === file_to_delete ) {
    fs.unlink(file_path, (error)=> {
      if (error) throw new Error('Could not delete file');
        console.log(`Deleted ${file_path}`);
    })
  }

    });
   });
  }); Breakdown: The code begins with the function, which reads the contents of the directory specified by the variable. fs.readdir() f is the directory path that is passed as the first parameter to . This variable should represent the path to the directory you want to read the contents of. f fs.readdir() If an error occurs during the directory read operation, an error is thrown with the message . 'Could not read directory' The method is used to iterate over each file and directory in the array. files.forEach() files Inside the loop, the variable is created by joining the (directory path) and (current file/directory name) using . This provides the full path to the current file or directory. file_path f file path.join() The is logged to the console using . file_path console.log() The function is called to retrieve the metadata of the current file or directory. fs.stat() If an error occurs during the operation, an error is thrown with the message . fs.stat() 'File does not exist' If the retrieved indicates that the current item is a directory, the message is logged to the console. stat 'The file is actually a directory' If the current file name ( ) matches the variable, the file is deleted using . file file_to_delete fs.unlink() If an error occurs during the file deletion ( ), an error is thrown with the message . fs.unlink() 'Could not delete file' Finally, a message is logged to the console indicating that the file has been deleted. This code snippet essentially reads the directory contents, iterates over each file, checks if it is a directory or the file to be deleted, and performs the necessary actions accordingly. Simple Explanation: We first read the directory of the files we want then if we encounter an error, we throw an error indicating that something went wrong, but in this case, the error message will be . Could not read directory If there’s no error, we get the files, which is an array of file names if multiple files are found or a single file if one file is found, we then grab each file in the array and then join the directory to the file, so we get something like this . C:\Users\..\Desktop\..\..\src\uploads\images\1676410030129-screen.webp Then we use to check if the path to the file exists, if there’s no file, we throw an error saying . fs.stat File do not exist We also check if the path to the actual file is a directory if true, we , if it is false, then we move to the following line of the code and check if the file name is strictly equal to the , if it is equal, then we delete the file or else throw an error saying . stat.isDirectory() console.log The file is actually a directory C:\User\..\1676410030129-screen.webp file_to_delete Could not delete file So at this point, we are done with our logic, and you have also gained an understanding of the concept we’re implementing. So here is the full code to this point. import fs from 'fs'
import path from 'path'

const directory = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'src', 'uploads', 'images')
const file_to_delete = '1676410030129-screen.webp'

fs.readdir(f, (error, files) => {
if (error) throw new Error('Could not read directory');

files.forEach((file) => {
const file_path = path.join(f, file);
console.log(file_path);

fs.stat(file_path, (error, stat) => {
  if (error) throw new Error('File do not exist');

  if(stat.isDirectory()){
    console.log('The file is actually a directory')
  }else if (file === file_to_delete ) {
    fs.unlink(file_path, (error)=> {
      if (error) throw new Error('Could not delete file');
        console.log(`Deleted ${file_path}`);
    })
  }

    });
   });
  }); Done? No, what if we want to use this code not only in one place, but three different files at the same time, meaning I will have to write the whole code in all three different files, which can use very stressful, and here is where the comes. We won’t cover the scope for functions because this is something you should know at this point. function So the code below has been refactored and made reusable. Won’t explain further, since the code below has been already explained. const directory = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'src', 'uploads', 'images');

export const handleFileDeletion = (directory: string, file_to_delete: string) => {
  fs.readdir(directory, (error, files) => {
    if (error) {
      console.log(error);
      throw new Error('Could not read directory');
    }

    files.forEach((file) => {
      const file_path = path.join(directory, file);

      fs.stat(file_path, (error, stat) => {
        if (error) {
          console.log(error);
          throw new Error('Could not stat file');
        }

        if (stat.isDirectory()) {
          // Here instead of doing a consle.log(),
          // we recursively search for the file in subdirectories
          handleFileDeletion(file_path, file_to_delete);
        } else if (file === file_to_delete) {
          fs.unlink(file_path, (error) => {
            if (error) {
              console.log(error);
              throw new Error('Could not delete file');
            }

            console.log(`Deleted ${file_path}`);
          });
        }
      });
    });
  });
};

// Calling the function
handleFileDeletion(directory, '1676410030129-screen.webp') Done? Yes, we are. Conclusion Overall, we learned about the necessary functions and techniques involved in deleting files within a nested folder structure using the module in Node.js. fs Also published here. I posted an answer on and you can find the use case on code on GitHub . Stack Overflow here

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