Deltree Replacement

Bring the Deltree command back to WinXP, 7, 8, 10, 11.

If you used MS-DOS 6+ back in the day, you undoubtedly ran into the Deltree command. Deltree deletes a whole folder and all its subfolders in one fell-swoop. It was really useful when you had a large number of subfolders to delete. If you added the /Y switch, it wouldn't even prompt for confirmation, it just DELETED. Obviously this can be dangerous if you either 1) don't know what you're doing, 2) accidentally run it on the wrong folder or 3) are a victim of a malicious command.

For some reason, Microsoft decided to discontinue Deltree after Windows ME. NT-based kernels just didn't bundle Deltree with their distributions anymore. I'm not sure why, it was a useful command.

UPDATE MAY 8, 2025 - VERSION 2!

I have written a modernized version of Deltree from scratch in the .Net Framework with a number of new features. Despite the enhancements, the old command line parameters are still present and this version should work as

a drop-in replacement for any legacy scripts that used the old DELTREE.EXE.

Key Features:  
- Handles Windows paths beyond 260 characters (using the \?\ prefix). 
- Warns you prior to deletion of system folders (Program Files, Windows system directories, user profiles, root deletions, etc.). 
- Supports wildcard patterns (* and ?) for batch deletions. 
- Internally uses non-recursive folder traversal to avoid stack overflows on deeply nested directory trees. 
- Retry logic for locked files, with customizable retry count and delay. 
- Automatically clears hidden, system, and read-only attributes before deletion. 
- Quiet, verbose, no-prompt, and continue-on-error modes. 
- Attribute handling: Clears hidden, system, and read-only flags before deletion. 
- Symbolic link & junction support: Detects and deletes without following them.

All the command-line parameters in the Deltree Replacement (DELTREE.EXE)

Again, you really should only download this if you know what you're doing. Let me clarify:

THIS IS A DESTRUCTIVE TOOL. IT IS LIKE FIRE FOR YOUR FILES. Like fire, it can be very useful, but it can also go out of control if you're careless with it. I take no responsibility, legal or moral, for any data loss you may experience through the use of this program, and you agree to these terms by using the software.

 Updated May 8, 2025

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