# How to check if directory is empty in Java

By Atta Ur Rehman Shah (https://attacomsian.com/about). Published Dec 14, 2019. Topics: Java.
Canonical URL: https://attacomsian.com/blog/java-check-if-directory-is-empty

> A quick tutorial to learn how to check if a directory is empty in Java.

In Java, there are multiple ways to check if a **directory is empty** or not. If you are using Java 7 or higher, you can use `Files.list()` method to check if a directory is empty:

```java
try {
    // directory path
    Path path = Paths.get("dir");

    // check if directory is empty
    if (Files.isDirectory(path)) {
        if (!Files.list(path).findAny().isPresent()) {
            System.out.println("Dirctory is empty!");
        } else {
            System.out.println("Dirctory is not empty!");
        }
    } else {
        System.out.println("Not a directory!");
    }

} catch (IOException ex) {
    ex.printStackTrace();
}
```

Alternatively, you can also use `File.list()` from **legacy I/O package to verify if a directory contains files** or not as shown below:

```java
// directory path
File file = new File("dir");

// check if directory is empty
if (file.isDirectory()) {
    String[] list = file.list();
    if (list == null || list.length == 0) {
        System.out.println("Dirctory is empty!");
    } else {
        System.out.println("Dirctory is not empty!");
    }
} else {
    System.out.println("Not a directory!");
}
```

## Further Reading

You may be interested in other Java I/O articles:

* [Reading and Writing Files in Java](https://attacomsian.com/blog/java-read-write-files)
* [How to Read and Write Text Files in Java](https://attacomsian.com/blog/java-read-write-text-files)
* [How to Read and Write Binary Files in Java](https://attacomsian.com/blog/java-read-write-binary-files)
* [Reading and Writing Files using Java NIO API](https://attacomsian.com/blog/java-read-write-files-nio-api)
* [How to read a file line by line in Java](https://attacomsian.com/blog/how-to-read-a-file-line-by-line-in-java)