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

---

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

## In this article

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

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

Deletes a file or directory.

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

 bool True on success, false on failure.

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

    ```php
    public function delete( $file, $recursive = false, $type = false ) {
    	if ( empty( $file ) ) {
    		return false;
    	}

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

    	if ( ! $recursive ) {
    		return $this->ftp->rmdir( $file );
    	}

    	return $this->ftp->mdel( $file );
    }
    ```

[View all references](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/files/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-ftpsockets.php/)
[View on Trac](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/6.9.4/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-ftpsockets.php#L404)
[View on GitHub](https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/blob/6.9.4/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-ftpsockets.php#L404-L418)

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

| Uses | Description | 
| [WP_Filesystem_ftpsockets::is_file()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_filesystem_ftpsockets/is_file/)`wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-ftpsockets.php` |

Checks if resource is a file.

  |

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

Deletes a directory.

  |

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

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

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