Functions/GenXdev.FileSystem/Remove-ItemWithFallback.ps1
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# don't remove this line [dontrefactor] ############################################################################### <# .SYNOPSIS Removes files or directories with multiple fallback mechanisms for reliable deletion. .DESCRIPTION This function provides a robust way to delete files and directories by attempting multiple deletion methods in sequence: 1. Direct deletion via System.IO methods for best performance 2. PowerShell provider-aware Remove-Item cmdlet as fallback 3. Mark for deletion on next system reboot if other methods fail This ensures maximum reliability when removing items across different providers. .LICENSE Copyright (C) 2026 René Vaessen / GenXdev This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. .PARAMETER Path The file or directory path to remove. Can be a filesystem path or provider path. Accepts pipeline input and wildcards. Must be a valid, non-empty path. .PARAMETER CountRebootDeletionAsSuccess If specified, the function returns $true when a file is successfully marked for deletion on reboot. By default ($false), the function returns $false in this scenario. .EXAMPLE Remove-ItemWithFallback -Path "C:\temp\myfile.txt" Attempts to remove the file using all available methods. .EXAMPLE "C:\temp\mydir" | rif Uses the alias 'rif' to remove a directory through the pipeline. #> function Remove-ItemWithFallback { [CmdletBinding(SupportsShouldProcess = $true)] [OutputType([bool])] [Alias('rmf')] param( ######################################################################## [Parameter( Mandatory = $true, Position = 0, ValueFromPipeline = $true, ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName = $true, HelpMessage = 'The path to the item to remove' )] [ValidateNotNullOrEmpty()] [Alias('FullName')] [string]$Path, ######################################################################## [Parameter( Mandatory = $false )] [switch]$CountRebootDeletionAsSuccess = $false ######################################################################## ) begin { # convert relative or provider paths to full filesystem paths $Path = GenXdev\Expand-Path $Path } process { try { # verify item exists and get its provider information $item = Microsoft.PowerShell.Management\Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path ` -ErrorAction Stop # handle filesystem items with direct IO methods for best performance if ($item.PSProvider.Name -eq 'FileSystem') { if ($PSCmdlet.ShouldProcess($Path, 'Remove item')) { # try fastest method first - direct file deletion if ([System.IO.File]::Exists($Path)) { try { [System.IO.File]::Delete($Path) Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility\Write-Verbose "Successfully removed file using IO: $Path" return $true } catch { # If ErrorAction Stop was specified, immediately rethrow if (($PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey('ErrorAction') -and $PSBoundParameters['ErrorAction'] -eq 'Stop') -or $ErrorActionPreference -eq 'Stop') { throw } # Otherwise, fall through to next deletion method Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility\Write-Verbose "Direct file deletion failed: $_" # Don't rethrow here - let the code flow to the next deletion method } } # handle directory deletion with recursive option if ([System.IO.Directory]::Exists($Path)) { try { [System.IO.Directory]::Delete($Path, $true) Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility\Write-Verbose "Successfully removed directory using IO: $Path" return $true } catch { # If ErrorAction Stop was specified, immediately rethrow if (($PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey('ErrorAction') -and $PSBoundParameters['ErrorAction'] -eq 'Stop') -or $ErrorActionPreference -eq 'Stop') { throw } # Otherwise, fall through to next deletion method Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility\Write-Verbose "Direct directory deletion failed: $_" # Don't rethrow here - let the code flow to the next deletion method } } } } else { # non-filesystem items need provider-specific handling if ($PSCmdlet.ShouldProcess($Path, 'Remove via provider')) { Microsoft.PowerShell.Management\Remove-Item -LiteralPath $Path ` -Force Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility\Write-Verbose "Removed item via provider: $Path" return $true } } } catch { Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility\Write-Verbose 'Standard deletion failed, attempting boot-time removal...' # Check if ErrorAction Stop was specified via parameter or preference variable if (($PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey('ErrorAction') -and $PSBoundParameters['ErrorAction'] -eq 'Stop') -or $ErrorActionPreference -eq 'Stop') { # Rethrow the original exception immediately without trying fallback methods throw } # Only try boot-time deletion for filesystem items and verify path exists first if (Microsoft.PowerShell.Management\Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) { $providerInfo = (Microsoft.PowerShell.Management\Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).PSProvider if ($null -ne $providerInfo -and $providerInfo.Name -eq 'FileSystem') { # last resort - mark for deletion on next boot if (GenXdev\Remove-OnReboot $Path) { Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility\Write-Verbose "Marked for deletion on next reboot: $Path" return [bool]$CountRebootDeletionAsSuccess } } } Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility\Write-Warning "All deletion methods failed for: $Path" Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility\Write-Error $_.Exception.Message return $false } } end { } } |