How to delete a file from the public folder in Laravel?

In Laravel, you can delete files from the public folder using the File facade or PHP's built-in unlink() function. The File facade provides convenient methods for file operations.

To work with File facade you need to include the class as shown below

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\File;

Using File::delete() Method

The delete() method from the File facade can delete single files or multiple files. It accepts a file path or an array of file paths ?

<?php
namespace App\Http\Controllers;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\File;

class UserController extends Controller {
   public function index() {
      $filePath = public_path('images/img1.jpg');
      $deletedFile = File::delete($filePath);
      
      if ($deletedFile) {
         echo "File deleted successfully";
      } else {
         echo "File not found or could not be deleted";
      }
   }
}
?>

File deleted successfully

Using PHP unlink() Function

The unlink() function is PHP's native method to delete files. It's recommended to check if the file exists before attempting deletion ?

<?php
namespace App\Http\Controllers;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class UserController extends Controller {
   public function index() {
      $filePath = public_path('images/img3.jpg');
      
      if (file_exists($filePath)) {
         $fileDeleted = unlink($filePath);
         if ($fileDeleted) {
            echo "File deleted successfully";
         }
      } else {
         echo "Unable to delete the given file";
      }
   }
}
?>

File deleted successfully

Deleting Directories

To delete an entire directory with all its contents, use the deleteDirectory() method from the File facade ?

<?php
namespace App\Http\Controllers;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\File;

class UserController extends Controller {
   public function index() {
      $folderPath = public_path('css');
      $folderDeleted = File::deleteDirectory($folderPath);
      
      if ($folderDeleted) {
         echo "Directory deleted successfully";
      }
   }
}
?>

Directory deleted successfully

Deleting Multiple Files

You can delete multiple files by getting all files in a directory and looping through them ?

<?php
namespace App\Http\Controllers;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\File;

class UserController extends Controller {
   public function index() {
      $files = File::allFiles(public_path('testjs'));
      
      foreach ($files as $file) {
         $deletedFile = File::delete($file->getPathname());
         echo "Deleted: " . $file->getFilename() . "<br>";
      }
   }
}
?>

Deleted: script2.js
Deleted: scripts.js

Comparison

Conclusion

Use Laravel's File facade for better error handling and Laravel integration. Always check if files exist before deletion and handle errors appropriately to prevent application crashes.