rclone Rmdirs

rclone rmdirs finds and removes all empty directories under the given path, recursively. Like rmdir, it only touches empty directories — directories containing files are left untouched.

Quick Summary

Run rmdirs after delete operations to clean up the empty directory skeletons that delete leaves behind. It's completely safe — it never removes directories that contain files.

Basic Syntax

rclone rmdirs REMOTE:PATH [flags]

# Remove all empty directories under a path
rclone rmdirs remote:my-bucket/old-data

# Include the root path itself if empty
rclone rmdirs remote:my-bucket/old-data --leave-root=false

Key Flags

Flag	Description
--leave-root	Don't remove the root directory itself (default: true)
--verbose / -v	Show directories being removed
--dry-run / -n	Preview without executing
--log-file PATH	Write log to file

Practical Examples

Post-Delete Cleanup

# Step 1: Delete files matching a pattern
rclone delete remote:my-bucket/logs --min-age 90d --include "*.log"

# Step 2: Clean up empty directories left behind
rclone rmdirs remote:my-bucket/logs -v

Clean Up After Move Operations

# Move files to archive
rclone move /srv/exports remote:archive/exports --progress

# Clean up empty source directories
rclone rmdirs /srv/exports -v

Preview Before Cleanup

# See what would be removed
rclone rmdirs remote:my-bucket/old-project --dry-run -v

Automated Cleanup Script

cleanup-empties.sh

#!/bin/bash
LOG="/var/log/rclone/rmdirs-$(date +%Y-%m-%d).log"

# Remove empty dirs across multiple paths
for path in logs temp staging; do
  rclone rmdirs "remote:my-bucket/${path}" \
    --log-file "$LOG" --log-level INFO -v
done

rmdirs vs rmdir vs purge

Command	Scope	Recursive	Safe (files untouched)
rmdirs	All empty dirs under path	✅	✅
rmdir	Single directory	❌	✅
purge	Everything	✅	❌

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall	Consequence	Prevention
Expecting file deletion	rmdirs only removes empty directories	Use delete for files
--leave-root default is true	Root directory remains even if empty	Add --leave-root=false if you want total cleanup
Object storage "directories"	Placeholder objects may prevent removal	Delete placeholder objects first

What's Next

Examples with Output

1. Clean up all empty folders recursively

Scan the entire remote and delete every directory that has no files. Command:

rclone rmdirs gdrive:Archives -v

Output:

2024/01/15 12:00:00 INFO  : 2022/temp: Removed empty directory
2024/01/15 12:00:00 INFO  : 2022: Removed empty directory

2. Leave specific folders alone

Prevent deletion of a directory even if it's empty (e.g., a required mount point). Command:

rclone rmdirs remote:bucket --exclude "keep-me/"

Output:

(Scanning all folders except 'keep-me')

3. Dry run of recursive cleanup

Preview the total number of directories that would be removed. Command:

rclone rmdirs remote:test --dry-run -v

Output:

2024/01/15 12:00:00 NOTICE: folder1: Not rmdir as --dry-run is set
2024/01/15 12:00:00 NOTICE: folder2: Not rmdir as --dry-run is set

4. Deep cleanup including parent folders

Ensure that if a folder becomes empty AFTER its children are deleted, it also gets removed. Command:

rclone rmdirs remote:nested/deep/path --leave-root=false

Output:

(Recursive removal of siblings and parents if empty)

5. Combine with delete for total workspace cleanup

Remove old files and then sweep away the empty shells. Command:

rclone delete remote:old-project --min-age 1y && rclone rmdirs remote:old-project

Output:

(Audit trail of file deletions followed by directory removal)