How to Delete a File in C++?

File handling in C++ allows us to create, read, update, and delete files from a program. To delete an existing file, C++ provides the remove() function, which removes a file from the file system.

• The remove() function is defined in the <cstdio> header file.
• It deletes a file specified by its relative or absolute path.

remove() Function in C++

The remove() function takes the path of the file as an argument and attempts to delete it.

Syntax of remove()

remove(char * path)

Parameters

• path: Relative or absolute path of the file to be deleted.

Return Value

• Returns 0 if the file is deleted successfully.
• Returns a non-zero value if an error occurs.

Program to Delete a File

The following program demonstrates how to delete a file named myfile.txt.

#include <cstdio>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main()
{

    // Remove the file named "myfile.txt"
    int status = remove("myfile.txt");

    // Check if the file has been successfully removed
    if (status != 0) {
        perror("Error deleting file");
    }
    else {
        cout << "File successfully deleted" << endl;
    }

    return 0;
}

Output

File successfully deleted

Explanation

• The remove() function attempts to delete the file myfile.txt.
• If the operation succeeds, the program prints a success message.
• Otherwise, perror() displays the reason for the failure.

Important Points: While deleting files using remove():

• The file path can be either relative or absolute.
• The file should not be open in the current program or another application.
• The remove() function cannot delete directories.
• To remove a directory, use the rmdir() function.