Node fs.unlink() Method

Last Updated : 14 Jan, 2024

`fs.unlink()` in Node.js removes files or symbolic links, while for directories, it’s advisable to use `fs.rmdir()` since it doesn’t support directory removal.

Syntax:

fs.unlink( path, callback )

Parameters: This method accepts two parameters as mentioned above and described below:

path: It is a string, Buffer or URL that, represents the file or symbolic link that has to be removed.
callback: It is a function that would be called when the method is executed.
err: It is an error that would be thrown if the method fails.

Example 1: Below examples illustrate the fs.unlink() method in Node.js. This example removes a file from the filesystem.

Javascript

// Node.js program to demonstrate the
// fs.unlink() method
 
// Import the filesystem module
const fs = require('fs');
 
// Get the files in current directory
// before deletion
getFilesInDirectory();
 
// Delete example_file.txt
fs.unlink("example_file.txt",
    (err => {
        if (err) console.log(err);
        else {
            console.log("\nDeleted file: example_file.txt");
 
            // Get the files in current directory
            // after deletion
            getFilesInDirectory();
        }
    }));
 
// Function to get current filenames
// in directory with specific extension
function getFilesInDirectory() {
    console.log("\nFiles present in directory:");
    let files =
        fs.readdirSync(__dirname);
    files.forEach(file => {
        console.log(file);
    });
}

Output:

Files present in directory:
example_file.txt
index.js
package.json

Deleted file: example_file.txt

Files present in directory:
index.js
package.json

Example 2: Below examples illustrate the fs.unlink() method in Node.js. This example removes a symbolic link from the filesystem.

Javascript

// Node.js program to demonstrate the
// fs.unlink() method
 
// Import the filesystem module
const fs = require('fs');
 
// Creating symlink to file
fs.symlinkSync(
    __dirname +
    "\\example_file.txt", "symlinkToFile"
);
console.log(
    "\nSymbolic link to example_file.txt created"
);
 
// Function to get current filenames
// in directory with specific extension
getFilesInDirectory();
 
// Deleting symbolic link to example_file.txt
// Delete example_file.txt
fs.unlink("symlinkToFile", (err => {
    if (err) console.log(err);
    else {
        console.log(
            "\nDeleted Symbolic Link: symlinkToFile"
        );
        // Get the files in current directory
        // after deletion
        getFilesInDirectory();
    }
}));
 
// Function to get current filenames
// in directory with specific extension
function getFilesInDirectory() {
    console.log("\nFiles present in directory:");
    let files =
        fs.readdirSync(__dirname);
    files.forEach(
        file => {
            console.log(file);
        }
    );
}

Output:

Symbolic link to example_file.txt created

Files present in directory:
example_file.txt
index.js
package.json
symlinkToFile

Deleted Symbolic Link: symlinkToFile

Files present in directory:
example_file.txt
index.js
package.json

We have a Cheat Sheet on Node FIle System Module methods where we covered all the important methods to check those please go through Node.js fs Complete Reference article.

Suggest improvement

Node.js fs.chmod() Method

Node.js fs.fchmodSync() Method

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