Title: WP_Filesystem_Direct::delete
Published: April 25, 2014
Last modified: February 24, 2026

---

# WP_Filesystem_Direct::delete( string $file, bool $recursive = false, string|false $type = false ): bool

## In this article

 * [Parameters](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/?output_format=md#parameters)
 * [Return](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/?output_format=md#return)
 * [Source](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/?output_format=md#source)
 * [Related](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/?output_format=md#related)
 * [Changelog](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/?output_format=md#changelog)

[ Back to top](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/?output_format=md#wp--skip-link--target)

Deletes a file or directory.

## 󠀁[Parameters](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/?output_format=md#parameters)󠁿

 `$file`stringrequired

Path to the file or directory.

`$recursive`booloptional

If set to true, deletes files and folders recursively.

Default:`false`

`$type`string|falseoptional

Type of resource. `'f'` for file, `'d'` for directory.

Default:`false`

## 󠀁[Return](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/?output_format=md#return)󠁿

 bool True on success, false on failure.

## 󠀁[Source](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/?output_format=md#source)󠁿

    ```php
    public function delete( $file, $recursive = false, $type = false ) {
    	if ( empty( $file ) ) {
    		// Some filesystems report this as /, which can cause non-expected recursive deletion of all files in the filesystem.
    		return false;
    	}

    	$file = str_replace( '\\', '/', $file ); // For Win32, occasional problems deleting files otherwise.

    	if ( 'f' === $type || $this->is_file( $file ) ) {
    		return @unlink( $file );
    	}

    	if ( ! $recursive && $this->is_dir( $file ) ) {
    		return @rmdir( $file );
    	}

    	// At this point it's a folder, and we're in recursive mode.
    	$file     = trailingslashit( $file );
    	$filelist = $this->dirlist( $file, true );

    	$retval = true;

    	if ( is_array( $filelist ) ) {
    		foreach ( $filelist as $filename => $fileinfo ) {
    			if ( ! $this->delete( $file . $filename, $recursive, $fileinfo['type'] ) ) {
    				$retval = false;
    			}
    		}
    	}

    	if ( file_exists( $file ) && ! @rmdir( $file ) ) {
    		$retval = false;
    	}

    	return $retval;
    }
    ```

[View all references](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/files/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-direct.php/)
[View on Trac](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/6.9.4/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-direct.php#L373)
[View on GitHub](https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/blob/6.9.4/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-direct.php#L373-L408)

## 󠀁[Related](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/?output_format=md#related)󠁿

| Uses | Description | 
| [WP_Filesystem_Direct::dirlist()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/dirlist/)`wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-direct.php` |

Gets details for files in a directory or a specific file.

  | 
| [WP_Filesystem_Direct::is_file()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/is_file/)`wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-direct.php` |

Checks if resource is a file.

  | 
| [WP_Filesystem_Direct::is_dir()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/is_dir/)`wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-direct.php` |

Checks if resource is a directory.

  | 
| [WP_Filesystem_Direct::delete()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/)`wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-direct.php` |

Deletes a file or directory.

  | 
| [trailingslashit()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/trailingslashit/)`wp-includes/formatting.php` |

Appends a trailing slash.

  |

[Show 1 more](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/?output_format=md#)
[Show less](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/?output_format=md#)

| Used by | Description | 
| [WP_Filesystem_Direct::rmdir()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/rmdir/)`wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-direct.php` |

Deletes a directory.

  | 
| [WP_Filesystem_Direct::move()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/move/)`wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-direct.php` |

Moves a file or directory.

  | 
| [WP_Filesystem_Direct::delete()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/)`wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-direct.php` |

Deletes a file or directory.

  |

## 󠀁[Changelog](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_direct/delete/?output_format=md#changelog)󠁿

| Version | Description | 
| [2.5.0](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/since/2.5.0/) | Introduced. |

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