To delete all files less than 24 hours old (i.e., created or modified within the last day) on Windows, you will need to use a command-line interface like PowerShell or Command Prompt, as the standard graphical interface does not offer this time-based filtering

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Using PowerShell (Windows)

PowerShell offers precise control over file attributes, including creation and modification times. 

1. Open PowerShell:
   • Press the Windows key, type powershell, right-click on Windows PowerShell in the results, and select Run as administrator.
2. Navigate to the target directory:
   • Use the cd command to change the directory where the files are located. For example, to go to a folder named TempFiles on your C: drive, you would type:powershellcd C:\TempFiles
3. Run the deletion command:
   • The following command finds and deletes files modified within the last 24 hours (1 day).
   ⚠️ Warning: This command will permanently delete files and cannot be undone from the Recycle Bin. It is highly recommended to use the -WhatIfswitch first to see which files will be affected before actually deleting them.
   • To preview files for deletion:powershellGet-ChildItem -Path "C:\TempFiles" -File -Recurse | Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -gt (Get-Date).AddDays(-1) } | Select-Object FullName (Change "C:\TempFiles" to your actual path.)
   • To actually delete the files (after verifying the preview):powershellGet-ChildItem -Path "C:\TempFiles" -File -Recurse | Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -gt (Get-Date).AddDays(-1) } | Remove-Item -Force (The -Recurse parameter makes the command search in subfolders as well.) 

Using find command (Linux/macOS) 

In Unix-based systems (Linux or macOS), the findcommand is used, often in a cron job for automation. 

⚠️ Warning: Be extremely careful with the find command and the -delete or -exec rm actions.

• To delete files less than 24 hours old (newer than 1 day):bashfind /path/to/directory -type f -mtime -1 -delete
  • /path/to/directory: Replace with your actual directory path.
  • -type f: Ensures only files are considered, not directories.
  • -mtime -1: Selects files modified less than one day ago.
  • -delete: Performs the deletion.