mkdir that overwrites any existing directory

Question

If I try to run mkdir build to create a build directory, if the directory already exists, this error is thrown: A subdirectory or file build already exists.. I need to delete and overwrite this directory. What is the command for that?

Answer 1

You can delete the build directory with

rd /s /q build

or

if exist build rd /s /q build

Answer 2

I don't think it is possible to use the mkdir command to do that natively (though if you were will to do a bit more scripting, it would be possible).

A simple alternative is the following command in powershell:

New-Item path -type directory -force

Where path is something like C:\users\name\build

For more on New-Item see: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee176914.aspx

Answer 3

You can try the rd command to remove the directory. You have to ensure the directory is empty first though.