How to Remove Empty Directories in Linux

The rmdir command in Linux is used to remove empty directories from the filesystem. Unlike the rm -r command (which deletes directories and their contents recursively), rmdir only works if the directory is empty. This makes it a safer option for cleaning up directories without risking accidental data loss.

It’s particularly useful in scripts or workflows where you need to ensure directories are empty before deletion. If a directory contains files or subdirectories, rmdir will throw an error, prompting you to address the contents first.

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Remove a Single Empty Directory

rmdir dirname

Deletes the empty directory dirname if it exists.

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Remove Multiple Empty Directories

rmdir dir1 dir2 dir3

Deletes dir1, dir2, and dir3 if they are all empty.

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Remove Nested Empty Directories

rmdir -p parent/child/grandchild

• -p removes the entire directory path if all directories in the path are empty.
• Deletes grandchild, then child, then parent (if empty).

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Verbose Mode (Show Deletion Progress)

rmdir -v empty_dir

• -v prints a confirmation message:
  rmdir: removing directory 'empty_dir'.

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Ignore Non-Empty Directory Errors

rmdir --ignore-fail-on-non-empty dirname

• Suppresses errors if dirname is not empty.
• Useful in scripts to avoid interruptions.

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Remove Directories with Spaces

rmdir "My Folder"

Use quotes to delete directories with spaces in their names.

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Remove Directories with Special Characters

rmdir 'dir$name'   # Use quotes
rmdir dir\#name    # Use backslash to escape

Handles names containing $, #, or other special characters.

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Delete Empty Directories via Wildcards

rmdir prefix_*

Deletes empty directories matching the wildcard pattern (e.g., prefix_1, prefix_2).

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Combine with find to Remove All Empty Directories

find . -type d -empty -exec rmdir {} \;

• find locates all empty directories in the current tree.
• rmdir deletes them one by one.

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Force-Delete Empty Directories (No Error for Non-Empty)

rmdir -p --ignore-fail-on-non-empty path/to/dir

Combines -p and --ignore-fail-on-non-empty for silent cleanup attempts.

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Redirect Errors to a File

rmdir dirname 2> errors.log

Saves error messages (e.g., “Directory not empty”) to errors.log.

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Use Absolute Paths

rmdir /home/user/empty_dir

Specifies the full path to the directory for precise deletion.

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Remove Hidden Directories

rmdir .hidden_dir

Deletes hidden directories (names starting with .).

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Check Directory Status Before Deletion

ls -d dirname/ && rmdir dirname

Lists the directory first to confirm it exists and is empty.

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Use rmdir in Scripts Safely

if [ -d "dirname" ] && [ -z "$(ls -A dirname)" ]; then
  rmdir dirname
fi

Checks if dirname exists and is empty before deleting.

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Key Notes:

• Safety First: rmdir will not delete directories with files/subdirectories. Use rm -r for non-empty directories (with caution!).
• Permissions: Ensure you have write access to the directory and its parent.
• Alternatives: For non-empty directories, use rm -rf dirname (but double-check the path!).