C delete file

Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn how to use the C remove() function to delete a file from the file system.

Introduction to the C remove() function #

The remove() function is defined in the stdio.h standard library. The remove() function accepts a file name and deletes it from the file system.

Here’s the syntax of the remove() function:

int remove(const char *filename);Code language: C++ (cpp)

In this syntax, the filename is the file name you want to delete.

If the remove() the function deletes the file successfully, returning zero (0). Or it’ll return -1 on failure.

C remove() function example #

The following example uses the remove() function to remove the test.txt file in the current working directory:

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    char *filename = "test.txt";

    if (remove(filename) == 0)
        printf("The file %s was deleted.", filename);
    else
        printf("Error deleting the file %s.", filename);

    return 0;
}Code language: C++ (cpp)

If you run the program and the test.txt file exists, you’ll see the following message:

The file test.txt was deleted.Code language: C++ (cpp)

In case the file test.txt doesn’t exist or it is locked by another program, you’ll see the following message:

Error deleting the file test.txt.Code language: C++ (cpp)

Summary #

• Use the C remove() function from the standard library to delete a file.