Cross-Platform Empty Directory Manager

A high-performance Python utility for identifying and managing empty directories in large filesystem structures across Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms.

Overview

This utility tackles the challenging task of processing massive directory structures (300k+ directories) with minimal system resource overhead. Using advanced traversal patterns and intelligent batching techniques, it provides a unified solution for managing empty directories across all major operating systems.

Architectural Foundation

The utility is built on a generator-based traversal architecture that enables processing of extremely large directory structures with constant memory usage, regardless of the total number of directories involved. This architectural approach makes it particularly suitable for scenarios involving hundreds of thousands of directories.

Key technical components include:

• Depth-First Traversal: Bottom-up processing ensures accurate identification of empty directories
• Incremental Processing: Stream-based approach prevents memory exhaustion
• Platform Abstraction Layer: Unified interface with platform-specific implementations
• Intelligent Batch Processing: Configurable batch sizes optimize resource utilization

Platform Compatibility

The utility provides full compatibility across major operating systems:

Platform	Empty Directory Detection	Trash/Recycling Integration	Path Handling
Windows	✓	Recycle Bin	Handles both forward/backslashes
macOS	✓	Trash	Native path formatting
Linux	✓	Desktop Environment Trash	Native path formatting

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/poacosta/empty-directory-manager.git
cd empty-directory-manager

# Install requirements
pip install send2trash pathlib

Usage

Command Line Interface

# List all empty directories
python empty_dir_manager.py /path/to/search --action list

# Count empty directories
python empty_dir_manager.py /path/to/search --action count

# Move empty directories to system trash
python empty_dir_manager.py /path/to/search --action trash

Advanced Options

# Customize batch processing size (for very large operations)
python empty_dir_manager.py /path/to/search --action trash --batch-size 500

# Suppress progress messages
python empty_dir_manager.py /path/to/search --action trash --quiet

Performance Optimizations

The utility employs several performance optimization techniques:

1. Lazy Evaluation: Directory traversal occurs on-demand, conserving resources
2. Path Validation Caching: Minimizes redundant filesystem operations
3. Batched Operations: Reduces system call overhead
4. Progress Metering: Real-time performance monitoring with adaptive batch sizing

Requirements

• Python 3.6+
• send2trash library (pip install send2trash)
• pathlib (included in Python 3.4+)