Master PHP’s rmdir(): Delete Empty Directories Safely

In PHP, the rmdir() function is used to delete a specified directory. It can only remove an empty directory.

Usage Syntax

bool rmdir ( string $path [, resource $context ] )

Parameter Description

path : The directory path to delete (required). Can be absolute or relative.

context : Optional stream context resource.

Return Value

The function returns true on successful deletion, or false on failure.

Notes

Ensure the directory is empty before calling rmdir(); otherwise the operation fails. To remove a non‑empty directory, first delete all its files and subdirectories, then call rmdir().

Code Example

The following example demonstrates how to use rmdir() to delete an empty directory.

$dir = 'path/to/directory';
// Check if directory exists
if (is_dir($dir)) {
    // Delete directory
    if (rmdir($dir)) {
        echo "目录删除成功。";
    } else {
        echo "目录删除失败。";
    }
} else {
    echo "目录不存在。";
}

Summary

The rmdir() function is a convenient way to delete directories in PHP, but it only works on empty directories. For non‑empty directories, clear their contents first before invoking rmdir().