How do you delete those damn folders?

[PadeMoNiuM Prods]

How do you get rid of those annoying folders in LaunchBox? Have you ever wondered about that?☝️😅

In the Images folder, a lot of folders keep appearing. You can delete them, you can even uncheck them in the options, but they keep coming back anyway.

The thing is, LaunchBox has a bit of an archivist obsession: it automatically recreates the standard image folders whenever it needs them. As soon as a game is scanned, a theme checks for media, or a scraper looks for a specific image type, LaunchBox recreates the missing folders inside LaunchBox\Images. The result is simple: you delete them, and a few minutes later they reappear. Pretty annoying.

But there are three things to understand.

First, unchecking media types in the options does not prevent the folders from being created. That option only prevents media from being downloaded. LaunchBox still keeps the folder structure ready just in case.

Second, some themes or Big Box views can trigger the recreation. If a view looks for something like Steam Banner or Background, LaunchBox will recreate the folder to check whether images exist there.

Third, the most effective solution is often to simply leave the folders but hide them.

There are two easy ways to do this.
Right-click the folder, open Properties, and set it as Hidden. The folders will still exist, but you won’t see them anymore.
Another option is to place a small .gitkeep or .ignore file to keep things visually clean.

Many LaunchBox theme creators do this because fighting the automatic recreation of folders is almost impossible.

The only way to really limit the proliferation is to check two places. In Options → Media, disable everything related to Steam, Fanart, and similar media sources. And in Options → Scrape / Metadata, disable any providers you don’t actually use.

Even then, LaunchBox will still keep its basic image folder structure.

From a software design perspective, the logic is actually quite interesting. The program prefers to recreate an empty folder rather than risk breaking a view or a media load. It’s a very “digital museum” philosophy. The structure always exists, even if the display case is empty.

I hope this helps you understand why it happens.😉

[Suhrvivor]

Yeah, it's kinda annoying that the app keeps creating folders that might never have any file in it. I mean, there's no need for the Nintendo Switch or any other handheld to have an "Arcade Cabinet" folder.

I'm my case I see it as a lost battle, I just let it be, I see the folders as part of the software itself, I don't bother deleting them anymore.

[spycat]

Same sentiments here. The automatic adding of irrelevant image sub-folders to those platforms that don't have any use for them is not very elegant. It would be nice to have the option of deleting them without the phoenix effect.

[denmiclaw]

Hope this helps some, this is what I do..  and while it works for the the extra image folders, it doesn't get rid of all the region folders that get created inside the image types you want to keep, I never figured out a way around that.  

Create your platform.  Edit, and change your platform's paths, set what you want to use to where you want, and for anything you DON"T want to use, change the path to something, like JUNK.  This will make a catch all folder that is in the Launchbox root that any folders you don't want showing up will point to, since leaving the folder field blank just makes it recreate what's missing.  Wile It's not a perfect solution, it helps keep the folder count down.  Unfortunately you have to do this on every platform after it's created, then go delete the folders it made under the platform's folder.

 

[PadeMoNiuM Prods]

On 4/24/2026 at 4:18 AM, denmiclaw said:

Hope this helps some, this is what I do..  and while it works for the the extra image folders, it doesn't get rid of all the region folders that get created inside the image types you want to keep, I never figured out a way around that.  

Create your platform.  Edit, and change your platform's paths, set what you want to use to where you want, and for anything you DON"T want to use, change the path to something, like JUNK.  This will make a catch all folder that is in the Launchbox root that any folders you don't want showing up will point to, since leaving the folder field blank just makes it recreate what's missing.  Wile It's not a perfect solution, it helps keep the folder count down.  Unfortunately you have to do this on every platform after it's created, then go delete the folders it made under the platform's folder.

 

Your idea is very good in principle, clearly. I totally understand the logic, and on paper it does sound cleaner.

The problem is that, with LaunchBox, I see it a bit like a time bomb. 👀😂Those folders may be empty today, but nothing says they won’t be used later by an import, a media scan, an update, or some internal BigBox/LaunchBox function.

If LaunchBox / BigBox automatically recreates them because they match expected media categories, then you’ll basically be fighting against the software.

And if you replace them with symbolic links, protected folders, or some system-level workaround, it may work… until the day an update, a theme export, a media scan, or an import decides to write something inside them.

And at that point, you’re basically bringing out the bazooka to kill a fly.^^

So I’d rather avoid deleting, blocking, or redirecting a folder structure that the software seems to expect. It’s not really about disk space, because an empty folder barely takes any. It’s mostly about readability.Setting those folders as hidden feels like the safest compromise to me: the structure stays intact, LaunchBox can keep working normally, and visually those folders no longer clutter the media directories. It’s less radical, but much safer in the long run.

Edited Sunday at 10:16 PM by PadeMoNiuM Prods

[Tsik]

Hey there, just wanted to share/post my (temporary) solution for those pesky empty folders created until something new comes from the dev team.

It is a simple batch file I've put together (from merging "code" around the NET) and placed in the LaunchBox directory which removes ALL the empty folders from the directory recursively

Reference script below:

@echo off
title Delete all empty folders in the directory 'Tree'

echo [91mDO NOT[0m close this window,
echo [96mDeleting empty Folders[0m in [[93m%~dp0[0m] and its sub-directories ^
except [[93m%~dp0Games[0m]^
...

::Deleting all empty folders in the directory "tree" 
for /f "delims=" %%d in ('dir /s /b /ad ^| sort /r') do ^
if not "%%~nd"=="Games" ^
rd "%%d" 2>nul

exit

Delete all empty folders in the directory tree (for LB).zip

*Note that I have a line in there for exceptions of folders that you may need to keep.
**Make sure you right-click properties of the .bat and click the "Allow" check-box

Of course the downside is that you just have to click it every time you end the session or maybe incorporate it into another "LauncBox Launcher.bat" batch script as below

@echo off
title LaunchBox Launcher
if not DEFINED IS_MINIMIZED set IS_MINIMIZED=1 && start "" /min "%~dpnx0" %* && exit

start "" /wait LaunchBox.exe

start /min "_Delete all empty folders in the directory tree (for LB).bat"
::The /min flag above starts the bat minimized (remove if needed)
exit

to launch it automatically when LaunchBox quits BUT helps a lot when doing a back-up and declutter when searching!

I really hope there will be a more permanent solution from the devs to disable the feature when needed.

Although as @Retro808 said -here- :

and @C-Beats also:

those folders seem to have a purpose.

You may use the file at your own risk (maybe test it first in a temporary directory) although I've been using this forever and never had a single problem.

Of course, as always, feel free to modify and share. 😀

Edited yesterday at 11:09 AM by Tsik

[PadeMoNiuM Prods]

@TsikOnce again, I also think the solution is brilliant, but for me, the risk is still enormous compared to the hidden file method where you don't touch or move anything. Thanks for sharing!

I don't recall seeing empty arcade folders on consoles either.👀🤷‍♂️ That's the case today, here's my NES image folder

This is what happens when a system is active and regularly used; the resolution is too small to display all the folders... A perfectionist's nightmare, lol.😂

Edited 13 hours ago by PadeMoNiuM Prods

[zugswang]

3 hours ago, PadeMoNiuM Prods said:

@TsikOnce again, I also think the solution is brilliant, but for me, the risk is still enormous compared to the hidden file method where you don't touch or move anything. Thanks for sharing!

I don't recall seeing empty arcade folders on consoles either.👀🤷‍♂️ That's the case today, here's my NES image folder

This is what happens when a system is active and regularly used; the resolution is too small to display all the folders... A perfectionist's nightmare, lol.😂

I have created an exe that will delete ALL completely empty folders/sub folders from the LB media folder (see example video)

It will delete any folder or sub folder that are completely empty for all your media.

If interested let me know and I will post it.

 

[PadeMoNiuM Prods]

1 hour ago, zugswang said:

I have created an exe that will delete ALL completely empty folders/sub folders from the LB media folder (see example video)

It will delete any folder or sub folder that are completely empty for all your media.

If interested let me know and I will post it.

 

Yes, feel free to share your solution; I'll summarize all the different solutions proposed at the top of the post. thank !

Edited 9 hours ago by PadeMoNiuM Prods

[zugswang]

1 hour ago, PadeMoNiuM Prods said:

Yes, feel free to share your solution; I'll summarize all the different solutions proposed at the top of the post. thank !

I suggest you test in one system first, then you can put it in the root of your Images folder and it will do all the systems.

Delete all empty folders.zip