# del [![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/sindresorhus/del.svg?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.org/sindresorhus/del) [![XO code style](https://img.shields.io/badge/code_style-XO-5ed9c7.svg)](https://github.com/xojs/xo) > Delete files and directories using [globs](https://github.com/sindresorhus/globby#globbing-patterns) Similar to [rimraf](https://github.com/isaacs/rimraf), but with a Promise API and support for multiple files and globbing. It also protects you against deleting the current working directory and above. ## Install ``` $ npm install del ``` ## Usage ```js const del = require('del'); (async () => { const deletedPaths = await del(['temp/*.js', '!temp/unicorn.js']); console.log('Deleted files and directories:\n', deletedPaths.join('\n')); })(); ``` ## Beware The glob pattern `**` matches all children and *the parent*. So this won't work: ```js del.sync(['public/assets/**', '!public/assets/goat.png']); ``` You have to explicitly ignore the parent directories too: ```js del.sync(['public/assets/**', '!public/assets', '!public/assets/goat.png']); ``` Suggestions on how to improve this welcome! ## API Note that glob patterns can only contain forward-slashes, not backward-slashes. Windows file paths can use backward-slashes as long as the path does not contain any glob-like characters, otherwise use `path.posix.join()` instead of `path.join()`. ### del(patterns, options?) Returns `Promise` with the deleted paths. ### del.sync(patterns, options?) Returns `string[]` with the deleted paths. #### patterns Type: `string | string[]` See the supported [glob patterns](https://github.com/sindresorhus/globby#globbing-patterns). - [Pattern examples with expected matches](https://github.com/sindresorhus/multimatch/blob/master/test/test.js) - [Quick globbing pattern overview](https://github.com/sindresorhus/multimatch#globbing-patterns) #### options Type: `object` You can specify any of the [`globby` options](https://github.com/sindresorhus/globby#options) in addition to the below options. In contrast to the `globby` defaults, `expandDirectories`, `onlyFiles`, and `followSymbolicLinks` are `false` by default. ##### force Type: `boolean`
Default: `false` Allow deleting the current working directory and outside. ##### dryRun Type: `boolean`
Default: `false` See what would be deleted. ```js const del = require('del'); (async () => { const deletedPaths = await del(['temp/*.js'], {dryRun: true}); console.log('Files and directories that would be deleted:\n', deletedPaths.join('\n')); })(); ``` ##### concurrency Type: `number`
Default: `Infinity`
Minimum: `1` Concurrency limit. ## CLI See [del-cli](https://github.com/sindresorhus/del-cli) for a CLI for this module and [trash-cli](https://github.com/sindresorhus/trash-cli) for a safe version that is suitable for running by hand. ## Related - [make-dir](https://github.com/sindresorhus/make-dir) - Make a directory and its parents if needed - [globby](https://github.com/sindresorhus/globby) - User-friendly glob matching ---
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