The 'list-empty-dirs.ps1' Script

This PowerShell script scans a directory tree and lists all empty directories.

Parameters

PS> ./list-empty-dirs.ps1 [[-path] <String>] [<CommonParameters>]

-path <String>
    Specifies the path to the directory tree (current working directory by default)
    
    Required?                    false
    Position?                    1
    Default value                "$PWD"
    Accept pipeline input?       false
    Aliases                      
    Accept wildcard characters?  false

[<CommonParameters>]
    This script supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug, ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, WarningAction, 
    WarningVariable, OutBuffer, PipelineVariable, and OutVariable.

Example

PS> ./list-empty-dirs.ps1 C:\Windows
...
✅ Found 39972 empty directories within 📂C:\Windows in 222s.

Notes

Author: Markus Fleschutz | License: CC0

Related Links

https://github.com/fleschutz/PowerShell

Script Content

<#
.SYNOPSIS
	Lists empty directories in a directory tree
.DESCRIPTION
	This PowerShell script scans a directory tree and lists all empty directories.
.PARAMETER path
	Specifies the path to the directory tree (current working directory by default)
.EXAMPLE
	PS> ./list-empty-dirs.ps1 C:\Windows
	...
	✅ Found 39972 empty directories within 📂C:\Windows in 222s.
.LINK
	https://github.com/fleschutz/PowerShell
.NOTES
	Author: Markus Fleschutz | License: CC0
#>

param([string]$path = "$PWD")

try {
	$stopWatch = [system.diagnostics.stopwatch]::startNew()

	$path = Resolve-Path "$path"
	Write-Progress "Scanning $path for empty folders..."
	[int]$count = 0
	Get-ChildItem "$path" -attributes Directory -recurse -force | Where-Object { @(Get-ChildItem $_.FullName -force).Count -eq 0 } | ForEach-Object {
		"📂$($_.FullName)"
		$count++
	}
	Write-Progress -completed " "
	[int]$elapsed = $stopWatch.Elapsed.TotalSeconds
	"✅ Found $count empty directories within 📂$path in $($elapsed)s." 
	exit 0 # success
} catch {
	"⚠️ ERROR: $($Error[0]) (script line $($_.InvocationInfo.ScriptLineNumber))"
	exit 1
}

(page generated by convert-ps2md.ps1 as of 05/17/2026 11:51:06)