CODEWITHSUNDEEP
batch-filecmd
user10013584
user10013584

Reputation:

batch to delete subfolders of all subfolders

So i'm currently trying to delete a bunch of subfolders that were created by a program, on a recurring basis because it will recreate the subfolders. I know how to schedule the batch file, right now my issue is how to efficiently create the batch file to begin with. To clarify, say i have a directory named D:\IGSG. There are 250 folders within D:\IGSG, and within each one of those is a folder named D:\IGSG\F252341\arg. I want to delete all of the \arg folders, from all ~250 F folders I have, without deleting the other files inside the F folders. Right now the only way to do it that I know of would be to have a batch that goes

cd D:\IGSG\F252341 del /Q arg

and to repeat those lines for every subfolder, but typing out those folder names for every folder in there would be tedious, especially considering new ones are created from time to time. So i'm looking for a way with a batch to delete the subfolder of a subfolder, without deleting other files, if that makes sense.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 2351

Answers (2)

lit
lit

Reputation: 16266

This PowerShell script will recurse through the subdirectory structure and delete all files and subdirectories inside arg directories. Be sure to change the location of the IGSG directory to yours. When you are satisfied that the correct files will be deleted, remove the -WhatIf from the Remove-Item cmdlet.

Get-ChildItem -Directory -Recurse -Path 'C:\src\t\delsubs\IGSG\F*' -Filter 'arg' |
    Remove-Item -Path {(Join-Path -Path $_.FullName -ChildPath '*')} -Recurse -Force -WhatIf

If you need to run it from a cmd.exe shell, put the code above into a file named 'dodel.ps1' and run using:

powershell -NoProfile -File .\dodel.ps1

Upvotes: 1

user6811411
user6811411

Reputation:

On the cmd line for /d /r X:\path in combination with a wildcard will enumerate all folders names arg the appended .? meets this requirement:

for /d /r D:\IGSG %A in (arg.?) do @echo rd /s /q "%A"

if the output looks right remove the echo.

In a batch file double the %-signs -> %%A

@Echo off
for /d /r D:\IGSG %%A in (arg.?) do echo rd /s /q "%%A"

One of the rare cases where batch/cmd line can compete with PowerShell.

Upvotes: 1

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