delete()

public function delete(string $file_path): bool

Description

Deletes a file from the filesystem. Throws an exception if the file does not exist, cannot be deleted, or is in a restricted path.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$file_path	string	The path to the file to be deleted.

Return Value

Type	Description
bool	Returns true if the file is successfully deleted.

Example #1

The code sample below demonstrates the most basic file deletion operation.

PHP

$file_path = 'modules/uploads/old_document.pdf';

// Check if file exists before attempting deletion
if ($this->file->exists($file_path)) {
    $result = $this->file->delete($file_path);
    
    if ($result === true) {
        echo 'File deleted successfully';
    }
} else {
    echo 'File not found';
}

Check Before You Act: The delete() method throws an exception if the file doesn't exist or cannot be deleted. It's recommended to always check if a file exists using $this->file->exists($file_path) before attempting deletion. This allows you to handle missing files gracefully with redirects or user-friendly messages, rather than relying on exception handling for expected conditions.

Example #2

The example above shows how to delete a user's uploaded resume file when they request its removal.

PHP

public function delete_resume(): void {
    $user_id = segment(3, 'int');
    
    // Get the user's current resume filename from the database
    $user_obj = $this->db->get_where($user_id, 'users');
    
    if ($user_obj === false) {
        redirect('users/not_found');
    }
    
    $resume_filename = $user_obj->resume_file; // e.g., 'x7f9d2e1b4a.pdf'
    
    // Build the full path to the file
    $file_path = 'modules/users/resumes/' . $resume_filename;
    
    // Check if file exists before attempting deletion
    if ($this->file->exists($file_path)) {
        $result = $this->file->delete($file_path);
        
        // Update database to remove the file reference
        $data['resume_file'] = null;
        $this->model->update($user_id, $data, 'users');
        
        set_flashdata('Resume deleted successfully');
        redirect('users/profile/' . $user_id);
    } else {
        redirect('users/not_found');
    }
}

Example #3

The example above demonstrates how to delete temporary files after processing is complete.

PHP

public function process_import(): void {
    $import_id = segment(3, 'int');
    
    // Process an uploaded CSV file
    $uploaded_file = 'temp/imports/data_' . $import_id . '.csv';
    
    // Check the file exists before processing
    if ($this->file->exists($uploaded_file)) {
        // Read and process the CSV
        $csv_data = $this->file->read($uploaded_file);
        // ... process the data ...
        
        // Clean up the temporary file after successful processing
        $result = $this->file->delete($uploaded_file);
        
        set_flashdata('Import completed and temporary file cleaned up');
        redirect('imports/success');
    } else {
        redirect('imports/not_found');
    }
}

Example #4

The example above shows how to delete old backup files as part of a maintenance routine.

PHP

public function cleanup_old_backups(): void {
    $backup_dir = 'backups/daily';
    
    if (!$this->file->exists($backup_dir)) {
        redirect('backups/setup');
    }
    
    // List all items in backup directory
    $items = $this->file->list_directory($backup_dir);
    
    // Delete backups older than 30 days
    $cutoff_date = strtotime('-30 days');
    $deleted_count = 0;
    
    foreach ($items as $item) {
        $file_path = $backup_dir . '/' . $item;
        
        // Skip directories
        if (is_dir($file_path)) {
            continue;
        }
        
        if ($this->file->exists($file_path)) {
            $file_date = filemtime($file_path);
            
            if ($file_date < $cutoff_date) {
                $this->file->delete($file_path);
                $deleted_count++;
            }
        }
    }
    
    set_flashdata("Deleted {$deleted_count} old backup files");
    redirect('backups/manage');
}

Database Consistency: When deleting files that are referenced in your database, always update or remove the database record after a successful deletion. Failing to do this will result in broken file references and "file not found" errors when users try to access files that no longer exist on the filesystem.