How to delete a file in Node.js

In Node.js, you can use the fs.unlink() method provided by the built-in fs module to delete a file from the local file system.

Here is an example that demonstrates how you can use this method:

const fs = require('fs');

// delete a file
fs.unlink('file.txt', (err) => {
    if (err) {
        throw err;
    }

    console.log("File is deleted.");
});

The fs.unlink() method works asynchronously which means it doesn't block the Node.js event loop while deleting a file.

The fs module also provides a synchronous method called fs.unlinkSync() to deletes a file synchronously, like below:

const fs = require('fs');

// delete a file
try {
    fs.unlinkSync('file.txt');

    console.log("File is deleted.");
} catch (error) {
    console.log(error);
}

Be careful while using synchronous methods from the fs module. These methods block the Node.js event loop until the file operation is completed. It may affect performance when you are performing a lot of concurrent tasks.

Take a look at how to read and write files in Node.js guide to learn more about handling files in a Node.js application.

✌️ Like this article? Follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also Subscribe to RSS Feed.

Last Updated: March 30, 2020