Send2Trash
Send file to trash natively under Mac OS X, Windows and Linux
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Send2Trash is a mature, actively maintained library with zero security vulnerabilities, low install friction, and broad platform support. Install it when you need safer file deletion with native trash integration across macOS, Windows, and Linux—particularly for user-facing applications where permanent deletion is undesirable.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Low friction installation with no runtime dependencies.
- Active maintenance with recent commits and production-stable status across Python 3.8 through 3.14.
License · maintenance · safety
BSD-3-Clause (permissive) — BSD-3-Clause permissive license allows use in most projects without significant restrictions.
last release 2026-01-14 (212 days) · last repo commit 2026-06-16 · 311 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 45,465,590 downloads/mo, #621 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install send2trash
from send2trash import send2trash
send2trash('some_file')
send2trash(['some_file1', 'some_file2'])- Whether pywin32 or pyobjc are automatically installed or optional for native platform support
- Performance characteristics when trashing large numbers of files or very large files
- Whether TrashPermissionError handling is sufficient for production use on Freedesktop systems
What it is and what it does
Send2Trash is a small, cross-platform library that moves files to the system trash or recycle bin instead of permanently deleting them. It uses native APIs on each platform: FSMoveObjectToTrashSync on macOS, IFileOperation or SHFileOperation on Windows, and GIO or freedesktop.org trash specifications on Linux and other POSIX systems. No compilation is required because it uses ctypes to access native libraries.
The package is useful when you want safer file deletion that allows recovery, rather than permanent removal. It handles both individual files and lists of files, and raises TrashPermissionError on Freedesktop platforms when files cannot be efficiently trashed (for example, files on different devices from the home directory).
Use it for
- File manager applications that need to move files to trash instead of deleting them permanently
- Cleanup utilities that should allow users to recover accidentally removed files
- Cross-platform desktop applications requiring native trash integration on macOS, Windows, and Linux
- Testing frameworks that need to safely remove temporary test files without permanent deletion
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Send2Trash is a mature, actively maintained library with zero security vulnerabilities, low install friction, and broad platform support. Install it when you need safer file deletion with native trash integration across macOS, Windows, and Linux—particularly for user-facing applications where permanent deletion is undesirable.
Install
send2trash on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction installation with no runtime dependencies. Active maintenance with recent commits and production-stable status across Python 3.8 through 3.14.
License in practice
BSD-3-Clause permissive license allows use in most projects without significant restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install send2trash
from send2trash import send2trash
send2trash('some_file')
send2trash(['some_file1', 'some_file2'])Verify before relying
- Whether pywin32 or pyobjc are automatically installed or optional for native platform support
- Performance characteristics when trashing large numbers of files or very large files
- Whether TrashPermissionError handling is sufficient for production use on Freedesktop systems
Package facts
| License | BSD-3-Clause permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.8 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 212 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 45,465,590 / month, #621 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersOperating System :: MacOS :: MacOS XOperating System :: Microsoft :: WindowsOperating System :: POSIXProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: Desktop Environment :: File Managers |
Evidence: send2trash-2.1.0-py3-none-any.whl
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