REMOVE VOLUME FILE Command

The REMOVE command is used to delete files or directories from Lakehouse Volume objects. The deletion synchronously removes the actual data from the underlying object storage and cannot be recovered. It supports three target types: external Volume, TABLE VOLUME, and USER VOLUME. This command can be executed in Studio and the Lakehouse client.

Syntax

REMOVE { VOLUME volume_name | TABLE VOLUME table_name | USER VOLUME } { FILE 'file' | SUBDIRECTORY 'dir' }

Parameter Description

Parameter	Required	Description
VOLUME volume_name	Choose one	Deletes files from the specified external Volume.
TABLE VOLUME table_name	Choose one	Deletes files from the TABLE VOLUME staging space of the specified table.
USER VOLUME	Choose one	Deletes files from the current user's USER VOLUME.
FILE 'file'	Choose one	Specifies the path of the file to delete (relative to the Volume root directory).
SUBDIRECTORY 'dir'	Choose one	Specifies the subdirectory to delete. All files under this directory will be recursively deleted.

Examples

Example 1: Delete a Single File from USER VOLUME

REMOVE USER VOLUME FILE 'university_info.csv';

Example 2: Delete a File in a USER VOLUME Subdirectory

REMOVE USER VOLUME FILE 'test_export/part00001.csv';

Example 3: Delete an Entire Subdirectory in USER VOLUME

REMOVE USER VOLUME SUBDIRECTORY 'test_export/';

Example 4: Delete a File from an External Volume

REMOVE VOLUME hz_image_volume FILE 'catsdogs.zip';

Example 5: Delete a Subdirectory from an External Volume

REMOVE VOLUME my_volume SUBDIRECTORY 'delta-format/uploaddelta';

Example 6: Clean Up TABLE VOLUME Staging Files After Import

After data import is complete, delete staging files in TABLE VOLUME to free up storage space:

-- View staging files SHOW TABLE VOLUME DIRECTORY tbl_region; -- Delete the imported file REMOVE TABLE VOLUME tbl_region FILE 'region.tbl';

Notes

• Deletion is irreversible. Before execution, confirm that the file path is correct. It is recommended to first use SHOW USER VOLUME DIRECTORY or SHOW VOLUME DIRECTORY to verify the file exists.
• When using SUBDIRECTORY, all files under that directory will be recursively deleted. Use with caution.
• Deleting files from an external Volume synchronously removes the actual data from the underlying object storage (OSS/COS/S3).
• Executing the REMOVE command requires write permission on the target Volume.
• You can combine this with Lakehouse scheduled tasks to automatically clean up imported staging files, reducing storage costs.