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Clear-RecycleBin

Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Management Module

Clears the contents of the current user's recycle bin.

Syntax

All 

Clear-RecycleBin
    [[-DriveLetter] <String[]>]
    [-Force]
    [-WhatIf]
    [-Confirm]
    [<CommonParameters>]

Description

This cmdlet is only available on the Windows platform.

The Clear-RecycleBin cmdlet deletes the content of the current user's recycle bin. This action is like using Windows Empty Recycle Bin.

This cmdlet was readded in PowerShell 7.

Examples

1: Clear all recycle bins

In this example, the current user's recycle bins for all drives are cleared.

Clear-RecycleBin

Confirm
Are you sure you want to perform this action?
Performing the operation "Clear-RecycleBin" on target "All of the contents of the Recycle Bin".
[Y] Yes  [A] Yes to All  [N] No  [L] No to All  [S] Suspend  [?] Help (default is "Y"):

Clear-RecycleBin prompts the user for confirmation.

2: Clear a specified recycle bin

This example clears the recycle bin for a specified drive letter.

Clear-RecycleBin -DriveLetter C

Clear-RecycleBin uses the DriveLetter parameter to specify the recycle bin on the C volume. The user is prompted for confirmation to run the command.

3: Clear all recycle bins without confirmation

This example doesn't prompt for confirmation to clear the recycle bins.

Clear-RecycleBin -Force

Clear-RecycleBin uses the Force parameter and doesn't prompt the user for confirmation to clear all recycle bins.

An alternative is to replace -Force with -Confirm:$false.

Parameters

-Confirm

Prompts for user confirmation before running the cmdlet. The user is prompted for confirmation even if the Confirm parameter isn't specified.

Parameter properties

Type:SwitchParameter
Default value:False
Supports wildcards:False
DontShow:False
Aliases:cf

Parameter sets

(All)
Position:Named
Mandatory:False
Value from pipeline:False
Value from pipeline by property name:False
Value from remaining arguments:False

-DriveLetter

Specifies the recycle bin to clear for a single drive letter or an array of drive letters.

Parameter properties

Type:

String[]

Default value:None
Supports wildcards:False
DontShow:False

Parameter sets

(All)
Position:0
Mandatory:False
Value from pipeline:False
Value from pipeline by property name:True
Value from remaining arguments:False

-Force

Specifies that the user isn't prompted for confirmation to clear a recycle bin. The Force parameter also overrides the WhatIf and Confirm parameters.

Parameter properties

Type:SwitchParameter
Default value:None
Supports wildcards:False
DontShow:False

Parameter sets

(All)
Position:Named
Mandatory:False
Value from pipeline:False
Value from pipeline by property name:False
Value from remaining arguments:False

-WhatIf

Shows what would happen if Clear-RecycleBin runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Parameter properties

Type:SwitchParameter
Default value:False
Supports wildcards:False
DontShow:False
Aliases:wi

Parameter sets

(All)
Position:Named
Mandatory:False
Value from pipeline:False
Value from pipeline by property name:False
Value from remaining arguments:False

CommonParameters

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -InformationAction, -InformationVariable, -OutBuffer, -OutVariable, -PipelineVariable, -ProgressAction, -Verbose, -WarningAction, and -WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.

Outputs

None

This cmdlet returns no output.

Notes

This cmdlet is only available on Windows platforms.