rmdir – Remove Empty Directories

The rmdir command deletes empty directories. It will fail if the directory contains any files or subdirectories.

Syntax

rmdir [OPTION]... DIRECTORY...
  • You can specify one or more empty directories to remove.

Common Options

Option Description
-p Remove DIRECTORY and its ancestors if they become empty (like a recursive remove)
--ignore-fail-on-non-empty Do not throw an error if the directory is not empty

Practical Examples

1. Remove a single empty directory

rmdir myemptyfolder

2. Remove multiple empty directories at once

rmdir folder1 folder2 folder3

3. Remove a directory and its parent directories if they are empty

rmdir -p projects/2025/october

This removes october, then 2025 and projects only if they are empty after removing the subdirectories.

4. Ignore errors for non-empty directories

rmdir --ignore-fail-on-non-empty folder

This will not show an error if folder is not empty.

Important Notes

  • rmdir only removes empty directories. To delete directories with content, use rm -r or rm -rf (with caution).
  • If you want to delete a directory regardless of content, rmdir will not work.

Tips

  • Use rmdir -p to clean up nested empty directories easily.
  • Use ls -la to check if a directory is really empty before removing it.
  • For safer deletion of non-empty directories, consider using rm -ri to prompt for each deletion.

See Also

  • rm -r – remove directories and their contents recursively
  • mkdir – create directories
  • ls -ld – list directory information

Summary

rmdir is a simple and safe way to remove empty directories, ideal for cleaning up directory structures without risking data loss.