Obsolete
This feature is obsolete. Although it may still work in some browsers, its use is discouraged since it could be removed at any time. Try to avoid using it.
This is an experimental technology
Check the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production.
The FileSystemDirectoryEntry
interface's method removeRecursively
()
removes the directory as well as all of its content, hierarchically iterating over its entire subtree of descendant files and directories.
To remove a single file, or an empty directory, you can also use FileSystemEntry.remove()
.
Syntax
FileSystemDirectoryEntry.removeRecursively(successCallback[, errorCallback]);
Parameters
successCallback
- A function to call once the directory removal process has completed. The callback has no parameters.
errorCallback
Optional- A function to be called if an error occurs while attempting to remove the directory subtree. Receives a
FileError
describing the error which occurred as input.
Return value
Errors
If an error occurs and an errorCallback
was specified, it gets called with a single parameter: a FileError
object describing the error. The FileError.code
specifies what type of error occurred, as follows:
FileError.INVALID_MODIFICATION_ERR
- An attempt was made to remove the root directory; this is not permitted.
FileError.NO_MODIFICATION_ALLOWED_ERR
- The file system's state doesn't permit modification.
FileError.NOT_FOUND_ERR
- The directory represented by the
FileSystemDirectoryEntry
no longer exists. FileError.NOT_READABLE_ERR
- The directory is not accessible; perhaps it's in use by another application or is locked at the operating system level.
FileError.SECURITY_ERR
- The directory could not be removed for security reasons. Possible reasons include:
- The directory and/or its contents may not be safe to access from a Web application.
- Too many file system calls are being made.
- Other security concerns as raised by the user agent or the operating system.
If you try to delete a directory which contains one or more files that can't be removed, or if an error occurs while deletion of a number of files is underway, some files may not be deleted. You should provide an errorCallback
to watch for and handle this, perhaps by trying again.
Example
directory.removeRecursively(function() { /* The directory was removed successfully */ }, function() { /* an error occurred while removing the directory */ });
Browser compatibility
Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
removeRecursively | Chrome Full support 8 | Edge Full support 79 | Firefox
No support
50 — 52
| IE No support No | Opera No support No | Safari No support No | WebView Android Full support ≤37 | Chrome Android Full support 18 | Firefox Android
No support
50 — 52
| Opera Android No support No | Safari iOS No support No | Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
- No support
- No support
- Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.
- Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.
- Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.
- Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.
- See implementation notes.
- See implementation notes.