How do I move a file to the Recycle Bin using PowerShell?

Question

By default when you delete a file using PowerShell it\'s permanently deleted.

I would like to actually have the deleted item go to the recycle bin just like I would

Answer 1

If you don't want to always see the confirmation prompt, use the following:

Add-Type -AssemblyName Microsoft.VisualBasic
[Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.FileSystem]::DeleteFile('d:\foo.txt','OnlyErrorDialogs','SendToRecycleBin')

(solution courtesy of Shay Levy)

Answer 2

2017 answer: use the Recycle module

Install-Module -Name Recycle

Then run:

Remove-ItemSafely file

I like to make an alias called trash for this.

Answer 3

Here is a shorter version that reduces a bit of work

$path = "<path to file>"
$shell = new-object -comobject "Shell.Application"
$item = $shell.Namespace(0).ParseName("$path")
$item.InvokeVerb("delete")

Answer 4

It works in PowerShell pretty much the same way as Chris Ballance's solution in JScript:

 $shell = new-object -comobject "Shell.Application"
 $folder = $shell.Namespace("<path to file>")
 $item = $folder.ParseName("<name of file>")
 $item.InvokeVerb("delete")

Answer 5

Here's an improved function that supports directories as well as files as input:

Add-Type -AssemblyName Microsoft.VisualBasic

function Remove-Item-ToRecycleBin($Path) {
    $item = Get-Item -Path $Path -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($item -eq $null)
    {
        Write-Error("'{0}' not found" -f $Path)
    }
    else
    {
        $fullpath=$item.FullName
        Write-Verbose ("Moving '{0}' to the Recycle Bin" -f $fullpath)
        if (Test-Path -Path $fullpath -PathType Container)
        {
            [Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.FileSystem]::DeleteDirectory($fullpath,'OnlyErrorDialogs','SendToRecycleBin')
        }
        else
        {
            [Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.FileSystem]::DeleteFile($fullpath,'OnlyErrorDialogs','SendToRecycleBin')
        }
    }
}

Answer 6

Remove file to RecycleBin:

Add-Type -AssemblyName Microsoft.VisualBasic
[Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.FileSystem]::DeleteFile('e:\test\test.txt','OnlyErrorDialogs','SendToRecycleBin')

Remove folder to RecycleBin:

Add-Type -AssemblyName Microsoft.VisualBasic
[Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.FileSystem]::Deletedirectory('e:\test\testfolder','OnlyErrorDialogs','SendToRecycleBin')