The Easiest Way to Find and Delete Empty Folders in Windows 11

Although empty folders don’t take up much storage space, you can delete them to make data organization easier.

Empty folders and junk files will continue to grow in Windows 11. For each activity, you can increase the number of folders, such as installing and uninstalling applications.

Empty folders, such as junk files and folders that take up a lot of storage space, will cause problems for the management and performance of your Windows computer. An empty folder itself is a directory with a size of 0 bytes.

Although they use up a small amount of storage disk space, empty folders will interfere with file management efforts. Cleaning empty folders is very important to keep your files and folders tidy.

Empty folders can occur anywhere, so it can be very difficult to find and delete empty folders manually one by one. Is there a quick way to remove empty folders from your computer?

The following article will guide you to quickly delete all empty folders on your Windows computer.

Causes of Empty Folders

It is important to regularly check for and delete empty folders to keep your computer organized and running smoothly.

There are several reasons empty folders appear on your Windows computer:

1. Uninstalled Programs: When you uninstall a program, it may leave an empty folder in the program files folder.
2. Windows Update: Windows Update can create empty folders during the installation or update process.
3. Viruses or malware: Some types of malware or viruses can create empty folders on your computer.
4. Automatic process: Some applications or scripts create empty folders for temporary storage.
5. File Management: When you move or copy files from one location to another, it may create empty folders.
6. Improperly deleted files: When you delete files using the button (Shift + Delete) or using third-party software, it may leave the folder empty.
7. Human error: Sometimes, users may accidentally create empty folders while organizing their files.

How to Find and Delete Empty Folders

There are several ways to efficiently remove empty folders from a computer in Windows. Here are some tips to help you clean your PC and remove useless folders:

1. Use the command line: Command Prompt (CMD) allows you to quickly find and delete empty folders. You can use a simple command to list all empty folders and then another command to delete them.
2. Use the search function: Windows built-in search function in File Explorer allows you to find empty folders. Just type “size:empty” and it will list all the empty folders on your computer.
3. Use third-party software: Many third-party tools can help you remove empty folders from your computer, such as Folder Cleaner, Empty Folder Nuker, and so on. This application can scan your drive and auto-delete empty folders.
4. Check the Windows installation folder: Windows often creates some empty folders during installation, updates, and so on. This folder can be safely deleted, but make sure you have backups of your important files before doing so.
5. Check the “ Program Files” folder: Many programs create an empty folder in the Program Files folder. You can safely delete this if the program is no longer installed.

How to Find and Delete Empty Files and Folders with File Explorer

1. Open Windows 11 File Explorer and navigate to the location where you want to find the empty folder.
2. Click the “View” button. Then select the “Show > Hidden items” option to display hidden files. “Hidden items” are active with a tick next to it.

3. Delete all the empty folders you want one by one.
4. Meanwhile, to delete empty files, files with a size of 0 bytes, press (CTRL + F), or in the File Explorer search box type “ size:empty ”.
5. Select the empty files you want and delete them.

Please note that before deleting any folder, make sure you have a backup of your important files, and also double-check before deleting any important folder.

How to Find and Delete Empty Folders with the Command Prompt (CMD)

1. In File Explorer, select the folder where you want to search for empty folders.
2. Right-click and select the “Open in Terminal” option.

3. Type the following command:

for /f "delims=" %i in ('dir /s /b /ad ^| sort /r') do rd "%i" 2>NUL

This command will remove all empty directories across subdirectories and nested empty folders (folders within folders).