Delete File

Delete File

Type: delete-file  ·  Package: Filesystem Activities v1.0.6

Deletes a file. If the file does not exist, it does nothing (it does not fail). Use it to clean up temporary files, remove downloads already processed or free working space.

How it works

Deletes the file at path. If it does not exist, the activity carries on without error and logs a warning: File not found; nothing to delete. It is idempotent: safe to repeat or retry.

• It only deletes files: if path points to a folder, it is not removed (treated as “not found”).
• It does not accept wildcards: to delete several files, list them with List Files and delete each one.

Required parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
path	string	—	Path of the file to delete.

Optional parameters

None.

Output

This activity does not return a value.

Common errors

Message	Cause and fix
The process cannot access the file '…' because it is being used by another process.	The file is open in another program. Close it first, or retry with Retry and a delay.
Access to the path '…' is denied.	No permission to delete, or the file is read-only.
'path' is required.	The path expression evaluated to null.

Example

Use a temporary file and delete it at the end:

Write File   path = "C:/temp/work.txt"   content = data   → output: tempPath
... process ...
Delete File   path = tempPath

Clear the .tmp files from a working folder:

List Files   path = "C:/work"   pattern = "*.tmp"   → output: tempFiles
For Each   items = tempFiles   itemVariable = path
 └─ activities:
      Delete File   path = path

Deletion is permanent

Delete File removes the file for good (it does not go to the Recycle Bin). Double-check the path before using it, especially if you build it with expressions.

Related activities

• Move File — archive instead of deleting.
• File Exists — check first (although Delete does not fail if it is missing).