How to Delete Archive After Unrar Extraction

The unrar command-line utility does not include a native flag to automatically delete source archives upon extraction. However, you can safely delete the archive file immediately after a successful extraction by using shell conditional operators. This guide explains how to chain the extraction and cleanup commands across Linux, macOS, and Windows environments, ensuring archives are removed only when the extraction finishes without errors.

The Standard Command: Conditional Execution

Because unrar returns an exit code of 0 when an extraction completes successfully, you can pair it with your shell's logical AND operator (&&). If the extraction encounters errors, the cleanup command will not execute, protecting your data from accidental loss.

Linux and macOS (Bash / Zsh)

For a single archive:

unrar x archive.rar && rm archive.rar

For multi-part archives (e.g., archive.part1.rar, archive.part2.rar):

unrar x archive.part1.rar && rm archive.part*.rar

Note: Use x instead of e to preserve the original directory structure within the archive.

Windows Command Prompt (CMD)

For a single archive:

unrar x archive.rar && del archive.rar

For multi-part archives:

unrar x archive.part1.rar && del archive.part*.rar

Windows PowerShell

In PowerShell, execute the extraction and check the process exit code:

unrar x archive.rar; if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { Remove-Item archive.rar }

For multi-part archives:

unrar x archive.part1.rar; if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { Remove-Item archive.part*.rar }

Batch Processing Multiple Archives

To process and clean up multiple RAR files in a directory on Linux or macOS, use a for loop:

for f in *.rar; do
    unrar x "$f" && rm "$f"
done

For Windows Command Prompt:

for %f in (*.rar) do unrar x "%f" && del "%f"

How Exit Codes Protect Your Data

The && operator checks the exit code of unrar before proceeding to deletion. The primary exit codes for unrar include:

  • 0: Successful operation (archive is deleted).
  • 1: Non-fatal error occurred (archive is preserved).
  • 2: A fatal error occurred (archive is preserved).
  • 3: CRC error / corrupted archive (archive is preserved).
  • 4: Attempt to modify a locked archive (archive is preserved).
  • 5: Write error to destination disk (archive is preserved).

Because deletion is gated behind exit code 0, incomplete or corrupted extractions will never result in the loss of your original archive files.