Remove all files from within documentDirectory in Swift - ios

Question

I am making an audio app, and the user can download files locally stored to the documentDirectory using FileManager.
Next, I'd like to allow the user to delete all files using a button. In the documentation, there is a method to remove items.
Here's my code:
#IBAction func deleteDirectoryButton(_ sender: Any) {
let documentsUrl = FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).first!
do {
try FileManager.default.removeItem(at: documentsUrl, includingPropertiesForKeys: nil, options: [])
} catch let error {
print(error)
}
}
Unfortunately, this won't build with an error Ambiguous reference to member 'removeItem(atPath:)'.
Is there a better approach to access the documentDirectory and remove all files from the directory in one swoop?

Answer 1

First of all the error occurs because the signature of the API is wrong. It's just removeItem(at:) without the other parameters.
A second issue is that you are going to delete the Documents directory itself rather than the files in the directory which you are discouraged from doing that.
You have to get the contents of the directory and add a check for example to delete only MP3 files. A better solution would be to use a subfolder.
let documentsUrl = FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).first!
do {
let fileURLs = try FileManager.default.contentsOfDirectory(at: documentsUrl,
includingPropertiesForKeys: nil,
options: .skipsHiddenFiles)
for fileURL in fileURLs where fileURL.pathExtension == "mp3" {
try FileManager.default.removeItem(at: fileURL)
}
} catch { print(error) }
Side note: It is highly recommended to use always the URL related API of FileManager.

Answer 2

Try this
func clearAllFiles() {
let fileManager = FileManager.default
let paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.documentDirectory, .userDomainMask, true).first!
print("Directory: \(paths)")
do {
let fileName = try fileManager.contentsOfDirectory(atPath: paths)
for file in fileName {
// For each file in the directory, create full path and delete the file
let filePath = URL(fileURLWithPath: paths).appendingPathComponent(file).absoluteURL
try fileManager.removeItem(at: filePath)
}
} catch let error {
print(error)
}
}

Answer 3

Just use code as Follow
to save AudioFile in Document Directory as
func getDocumentsDirectory() -> URL
{
//Get Basic URL
let documentsDirectory = FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).first!
/// Enter a Directory Name in which files will be saved
let dataPath1 = documentsDirectory.appendingPathComponent("folder_name_enter")
let dataPath = dataPath1.appendingPathComponent("folder inside directory if required (name)")
//Handler
do
{
try FileManager.default.createDirectory(atPath: dataPath.path, withIntermediateDirectories: true, attributes: nil)
}
catch let error as NSError
{
print("Error creating directory: \(error.localizedDescription)")
}
return dataPath
}
Delete
func clearAllFilesFromTempDirectory()
{
let fileManager = FileManager.default
let dirPath = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.documentDirectory, .userDomainMask, true)[0]
let tempDirPath = dirPath.appending("/folder_name/\(inside_directoryName)")
do {
let folderPath = tempDirPath
let paths = try fileManager.contentsOfDirectory(atPath: tempDirPath)
for path in paths
{
try fileManager.removeItem(atPath: "\(folderPath)/\(path)")
}
}
catch let error as NSError
{
print(error.localizedDescription)
}
}
Saving Method
getDocumentsDirectory().appendingPathComponent("\(audioName).wav")
Deletion Method
/// Just call
clearAllFilesFromTempDirectory

Answer 4

This my extension for remove all files and caches from directory.
// MARK: - FileManager extensions
extension FileManager {
/// Remove all files and caches from directory.
public static func removeAllFilesDirectory() {
let fileManager = FileManager()
let mainPaths = [
FileManager.default.urls(for: .applicationSupportDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).map(\.path)[0],
FileManager.default.urls(for: .cachesDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).map(\.path)[0]
]
mainPaths.forEach { mainPath in
do {
let content = try fileManager.contentsOfDirectory(atPath: mainPath)
content.forEach { file in
do {
try fileManager.removeItem(atPath: URL(fileURLWithPath: mainPath).appendingPathComponent(file).path)
} catch {
// Crashlytics.crashlytics().record(error: error)
}
}
} catch {
// Crashlytics.crashlytics().record(error: error)
}
}
}
}

Answer 5

Swift 5
Delete the whole folder:
If you'd like to delete a whole folder you can simply do this:
func deleteFolder(_ folderName: String, completion: () -> Void) {
let fileManager = FileManager.default
let directory = fileManager.cachesDirectory().appendingPathComponent(folderName)
_ = try? fileManager.removeItem(at: directory)
completion()
}
Delete certain files based on their name:
This will loop through all the files and remove all that contain the
func removeFiles(containing: String, completion: () -> Void) {
let fileManager = FileManager.default
let directory = fileManager.cachesDirectory()
if let fileNames = try? fileManager.contentsOfDirectory(atPath: directory.path) {
for file in fileNames {
if file.contains(containing) {
let filePath = URL(fileURLWithPath: directory.path).appendingPathComponent(file).absoluteURL
_ = try? fileManager.removeItem(at: filePath)
}
}
}
completion()
}