https://github.com/ghiscoding/remove-glob
a small JS and CLI cross-platform util to remove files, directories
https://github.com/ghiscoding/remove-glob
Last synced: 25 days ago
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a small JS and CLI cross-platform util to remove files, directories
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/ghiscoding/remove-glob
- Owner: ghiscoding
- License: other
- Created: 2025-07-02T05:39:09.000Z (12 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-05-27T04:57:10.000Z (about 1 month ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-05-27T06:25:29.665Z (about 1 month ago)
- Language: TypeScript
- Homepage:
- Size: 439 KB
- Stars: 1
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 1
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Changelog: CHANGELOG.md
- Funding: .github/FUNDING.yml
- License: LICENSE
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## Remove-Glob
A tiny cross-platform utility to remove items or directories recursively, it also accepts an optional glob pattern. There's also a CLI for easy, cross-platform usage using [cli-nano](https://www.npmjs.com/package/cli-nano) which is the only external dependency.
Inspired by [rimraf](https://www.npmjs.com/package/rimraf) and [premove](https://www.npmjs.com/package/premove) but also supports glob pattern to remove multiple files or directories.
### Major Changes
#### version 0.x
- works with Node.JS 20.x by using `tinyglobby` for glob matching
#### version 1.0
- drop `tinyglobby` and use `fs.glob` native code (requires Node.JS >=22.17)
---
### Install
```sh
npm install remove-glob
```
### Command Line
A `remove` binary is available, it takes an optional path argument (zero or multiple file/directory paths) to be removed **or** a `--glob` pattern instead of path(s).
> [!NOTE]
> The `paths` and `glob` arguments are both optionals, but you **must** provide at least 1 of them.
> However, please note that providing both of them simultaneously is not supported and will throw an error (choose the option that is best suited to your use case).
When using the `--glob` option, dotfiles and dot-directories (e.g. `.env`, `.gitignore`, `.config/`) are included by default. If you want to exclude them, you can adjust your glob pattern (e.g. use `**/[!.]*.js` or add an `!**/.*` pattern).
```
Usage:
remove [paths..] [options] → Remove all items recursively
Arguments:
paths Directory or file paths to remove [string..]
Options:
--cwd Directory to resolve from (default ".") [string]
-d, --dry-run Show which files/dirs would be deleted but without actually removing them [boolean]
-g, --glob Glob pattern(s) to find which files/dirs to remove [array]
-a, --all Include dotfiles (files starting with a dot) when matching glob patterns [boolean]
-s, --stat Show the stats of the items being removed [boolean]
-V, --verbose If true, it will log each file or directory being removed [boolean]
-e, --exclude Glob pattern(s) to exclude from deletion (overrides the default patterns) [array]
-h, --help Show help [boolean]
-v, --version Show version number [boolean]
```
When `exclude` glob pattern(s) are provided, it will override the default exclude [`"**/.git/**", "**/.git", "**/node_modules/**", "**/node_modules"`].
The `--all`/`-a` option includes dotfiles (files starting with a dot) in glob matches. By default, dotfiles are excluded unless explicitly matched or this option is used.
#### Negation Patterns
You can use negation patterns (starting with `!`) in glob arrays to exclude files from removal:
```sh
$ npx remove --glob "src/**/*.js" --glob "!src/**/*.test.js"
# This will remove all .js files except those ending with .test.js
```
#### Brace Expansion
Brace expansion is supported in glob patterns:
```sh
$ npx remove --glob "src/*.{js,ts}"
# This will match both .js and .ts files in src/
```
Remove files or directories. Note: on Windows globs must be **double quoted**, everybody else can quote however they please.
```sh
# remove "foo" and "bar" via `npx`
$ npx remove foo bar
# or remove using glob pattern(s)
$ npx remove --glob \"dist/**/*.js\"
$ npx remove --glob=\"dist/**/*.js\" --glob=\"packages/*/tsconfig.tsbuildinfo\"
# install globally, use whenever
$ npm install remove-glob -g
$ remove foo bar
$ remove --glob \"dist/**/*.{js,map}\"
```
When using the `--glob` option, it will skip `.git/` and `node_modules/` directories by default (internally it just set that as the default `exclude`). If you want to allow deletion of these directories, you can override the default by providing your own `--exclude` option (including an empty array to disable exclusion), for example:
```sh
# Remove everything, including .git and node_modules
$ npx remove --glob "**/*" --exclude ""
# Or exclude only .git, but allow node_modules to be deleted
$ npx remove --glob "**/*" --exclude "**/.git/**" --exclude "**/.git"
```
### Usage
```ts
import { resolve } from 'node:path';
import { removeSync } from 'remove-glob';
// remove via paths
removeSync({ paths: './foobar' });
removeSync({ paths: ['./foo/file1.txt', './foo/file2.txt'] });
// or remove via glob pattern
removeSync({ glob: 'foo/**/*.txt' });
// Using `cwd` option
const dir = resolve('./foo/bar');
await removeSync({ paths: ['hello.txt'], cwd: dir });
```
## JavaScript API
```js
import { removeSync } from 'remove-glob';
removeSync(opt, callback);
```
The first argument is an object holding any of the options shown below. The last argument is an optional callback function that will be executed after all files were removed.
```js
{
cwd: string; // directory to resolve your `filepath` from, defaults to `process.cwd()`
dryRun: boolean; // show what would be removed, without actually removing anything
paths: string | string[]; // filepath(s) to remove – may be a file or a directory.
glob: string | string[]; // glob pattern(s) to find which files/directories to remove
exclude: string | string[]; // glob pattern(s) to exclude from deletion
all: boolean; // include dotfiles (files starting with a dot) in glob matches
stat: boolean; // show some statistics after execution (time + file count)
verbose: boolean; // print more information to console when executing the removal
}
```
> [!NOTE]
> The first argument is required and it **must** include either a `paths` or a `glob`, but it cannot include both options simultaneously. A
When an `exclude` glob pattern is provided, it will override the default exclusion [`"**/.git/**", "**/.git", "**/node_modules/**", "**/node_modules"`].
#### Advanced glob usage
- **Negation**: Use `!pattern` in a glob array to exclude files from removal.
- **Brace expansion**: Use `{a,b}` to match multiple alternatives in a single pattern.
- **Dotfiles**: Use `--all`/`-a` to include dotfiles in glob matches.
### Used by
I use it in most of my own open source projects as a Dev Dependency (feel free to modify this list and add your project(s) as well)
- [Lerna-Lite](https://github.com/lerna-lite/lerna-lite)
- [SlickGrid](https://github.com/6pac/SlickGrid)
- [Slickgrid-Universal](https://github.com/ghiscoding/slickgrid-universal)