Python os.rmdir() Method

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The Python os.rmdir() method removes the directory path. It works only when the directory is empty, otherwise OSError will be raised. If the specified path does not exists, a "FileNotFoundError" is thrown.

To prevent accidental deletion of those directories that contains files, this method does not allow the removal of non-empty directories.

Syntax

Following is the syntax for os.rmdir() method −

os.rmdir(path, *, dir_fd)

Parameters

The Python os.rmdir() method accepts two parameters which are as follows −

• path − This is the path of the directory, which needs to be removed.

• dir_fd − It is an optional parameter that is a file descriptor referring to a directory.

Return Value

The Python os.rmdir() method does not return any value.

Example

In this example, we are removing "mydir" directory with the help of rmdir() method.

import os, sys

# listing directories
print ("the dir is: %s" %os.listdir(os.getcwd()))

# removing path
os.rmdir("mydir")

# listing directories after removing directory path
print ("Directory removed successfully")

When we run above program, it produces following result −

the dir is: 
[  'a1.txt','resume.doc','a3.py','mydir','Administrator','amrood.admin' ]
Directory removed successfully

Example

To handle the exceptions that can be thrown during the removal process of directories, we can use the try-except blocks.

import os

try:
   # removing a directory
   os.rmdir("Tutorials")
   print ("Directory removed successfully")
except OSError as exp:
   print(f"Error: {exp.strerror}")

On running the above program, it will produce the following output −

Error: Directory not empty