What does errno 41 (ENOTEMPTY) mean?

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: A UCRT errno status indicating that a directory-removal operation cannot proceed because the target directory still contains entries.

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
KERN_LOCK_OWNED_SELF	Kern return	Mac
ippStsI18nMsgCatalogInvalid	Intel Ipp Status	Any
EWOULDBLOCK	errno	Linux
EPROTOTYPE	errno	Mac
ELNRNG	errno	Solaris
SECURITY_SYSTEM	BugCheck Code	Windows

Previous	Next
ELNRNG	ENOMSG

ENOTEMPTY

ENOTEMPTY means a directory-removal operation encountered a directory that still has entries other than the special self and parent links. The important question is not merely whether a file explorer view appears empty: hidden entries, another process creating a file concurrently, a mount or reparse-point boundary, and a difference between the checked path and the deleted path can all change the result.

For native Windows file APIs, retain the original API return value and GetLastError(); this UCRT status may be supplied by a compatibility layer rather than by the underlying API itself. Do not recursively delete on receipt of this status unless recursive removal is an intentional operation with a defined safety boundary.

Safe diagnostic sequence

Resolve the target path before deleting and record the volume, final path, and whether the directory is a junction, symlink, or other reparse point.
Enumerate entries immediately before the failing removal, including names not displayed by the application UI.
Correlate the failure with concurrent writers, extractors, antivirus or indexing activity, and cleanup jobs.
Use an atomic rename-then-cleanup design when a producer must stop publishing new entries before a directory is removed.

References

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