I can't delete a folder/directory in the Trash that has no visible contents, but when trying to delete there are 5 "items in use" -- the folder name, ".Trash", an old folder name, "Library", and "VoiceTrigger"
I have a MacBook Air, running Tahoe 26.1, and restarting in Safe Mode doesn't allow me to delete this folder/directory. Any suggestions?
MacBook Air (M4, 2025)
It looks like their Trash folder isn't behaving normally — Finder shows items present, but Terminal doesn’t see anything in `~/.Trash`. That usually means one of two things:
Ok, we now want to locate where your Trash folder exists. Use this command: ls -la ~/.Trash
If you see an error like “No such file or directory” or the folder looks odd (wrong permissions, wrong owner, or is a symbolic link), that’s the root of the issue.
If it’s missing or corrupted, you can recreate it with these commands:
Then restart the Mac and attempt emptying the Trash again. Please post back your results.
It looks like their Trash folder isn't behaving normally — Finder shows items present, but Terminal doesn’t see anything in `~/.Trash`. That usually means one of two things:
Ok, we now want to locate where your Trash folder exists. Use this command: ls -la ~/.Trash
If you see an error like “No such file or directory” or the folder looks odd (wrong permissions, wrong owner, or is a symbolic link), that’s the root of the issue.
If it’s missing or corrupted, you can recreate it with these commands:
Then restart the Mac and attempt emptying the Trash again. Please post back your results.
This usually happens when background processes keep references to items that were moved to the Trash, or when the folder contains hidden system files that Finder doesn’t show. Safe Mode was a good step, but Tahoe can still keep certain daemons running that prevent deletion.
Let's start with this command in the Terminal app to see if it can resolve this issue: sudo rm -R ~/.Trash/*
Enter your Mac's administrator-level account password when prompted. Please post back your results.
Here's the contents of my Terminal session window:
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To update your account to use zsh, please run `chsh -s /bin/zsh`.
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Mac:~ roland$ sudo rm -R ~/.Trash/*
Password:
rm: /Users/roland/.Trash/*: No such file or directory
Mac:~ roland$
OK, as shown below, the command: /s -/a ~/.Trash comes back with "No such file or directory"
but the command: sudo rm -R ~.Trash yields "Operation not permitted"
From my Terminal window:
Mac:~ roland$ /s -/a ~/.Trash
-bash: /s: No such file or directory
Mac:~ roland$ sudo rm -R ~/.Trash
Password:
rm: /Users/roland/.Trash: Operation not permitted
Mac:~ roland$
MacBook Air: Can't delete Trash folder with items in use
