MS DOS Command: RMDIR (RD)

Reference from Microsoft MS-DOS cmd help

Description

Deletes (removes) a directory.

Before you can delete a directory, you must delete its files and subdirectories. The directory must be empty except for the "." and ".." symbols.

Syntax

RMDIR [drive:]path RD [drive:]path

Parameters

[drive:]path

Specifies the location and name of the directory you want to delete.

Related Commands

For information about creating a directory, see the MKDIR command.

For information about hidden files, see the ATTRIB command and the DIR command (the /A switch).

For information about deleting files, see the DEL command.

For information about deleting a directory, its files, and all subdirectories and files subordinate to it, see the DELTREE command.

Remarks

Cannot delete directory with hidden or system files

You cannot delete a directory that contains files, including hidden or system files. If you attempt to do so, MS-DOS displays the following message:

Invalid path, not directory,

or directory not empty

Use the DIR command to list hidden and system files and the ATTRIB command to remove hidden and system attributes from files. For more information, see those commands.

Using the backslash character with the path parameter

If you insert a backslash (\) before the first directory name in path, MS-DOS treats the directory as a subdirectory of the root directory--regardless of your current directory. If you do not insert a backslash before the first directory name in path, MS-DOS treats the directory as a subdirectory of the current directory.

Deleting the current directory

You cannot use RMDIR to delete the current directory. You must first change to a different directory (not a subdirectory of the current directory) and then use RMDIR with a path. If you attempt to delete the current directory, MS-DOS displays a message in the following format:

Attempt to remove current directory - drive:path

MS-DOS also displays this message if you attempt to delete a directory that has been redirected by using the SUBST command.

Examples

To delete a directory named \USER\SMITH, first ensure that the directory is empty, as in the following example:

dir \user\smith /a

MS-DOS should display only the "." and ".." symbols.

Then, from any directory except \USER\SMITH, type the following command:

rmdir \user\smith

You can type the following command with the same result:

rd \user\smith