os.remove() method in Python

Last Updated : 26 Jun, 2026

os.remove() method is used to delete a file from the file system. It removes the specified file permanently and raises an error if the file does not exist or if the given path refers to a directory.

Note: os.remove() can only delete files. To remove directories, use methods such as os.rmdir().

Example: In the code below, we delete a file and display a confirmation message.

Python 
import os
os.remove("file.txt")
print("File deleted successfully")

Output

File deleted successfully

Explanation: os.remove("file.txt") deletes the file named file.txt from the current working directory.

Syntax

os.remove(path)

  • Parameters: path - The path of the file to be deleted.
  • Return Value: This method does not return any value.

Examples

Example 1: In the code below, we remove a file located in the current working directory.

Python 
import os
os.remove("data.txt")
print("Deleted")

Output

Deleted

Explanation: os.remove("data.txt") deletes the file if it exists in the current directory.

Example 2: In the code below, we delete a file by specifying its complete path.

Python 
import os
os.remove(r"C:\Users\User\Documents\report.txt")
print("File removed")

Output

File removed

Explanation: os.remove() deletes the file located at the path provided.

Example 3: In the code below, we verify that a file exists before attempting to delete it.

Python 
import os

f = "sample.txt"

if os.path.exists(f):
    os.remove(f)
    print("File deleted")
else:
    print("File not found")

Output

File not found

Explanation: os.path.exists(f) checks whether the file exists before calling os.remove(f), helping avoid errors.

Example 4: The following example removes all files with the .log extension from the current working directory. This is useful for cleaning up log files generated by applications.

Python 
import os

for f in os.listdir():
    if f.endswith(".log"):
        os.remove(f)
        print(f"Deleted: {f}")

Output

Deleted: app.log
Deleted: error.log
Deleted: debug.log

Explanation: os.listdir() returns all items in the current directory. The condition f.endswith(".log") selects only .log files, and os.remove(f) deletes each matching file.

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