diff --git a/pyiron_workflow/files.py b/pyiron_workflow/files.py
index 05c6af03..8914913b 100644
--- a/pyiron_workflow/files.py
+++ b/pyiron_workflow/files.py
@@ -43,8 +43,9 @@ def __init__(self, directory):
     def create(self):
         self.path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
 
-    def delete(self):
-        delete_files_and_directories_recursively(self.path)
+    def delete(self, only_if_empty: bool = False):
+        if self.is_empty() or not only_if_empty:
+            delete_files_and_directories_recursively(self.path)
 
     def list_content(self):
         return categorize_folder_items(self.path)
@@ -71,6 +72,9 @@ def create_subdirectory(self, path):
     def create_file(self, file_name):
         return FileObject(file_name, self)
 
+    def is_empty(self) -> bool:
+        return len(self) == 0
+
 
 class FileObject:
     def __init__(self, file_name: str, directory: DirectoryObject):
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_files.py b/tests/unit/test_files.py
index 0093fea9..8b1864f1 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_files.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_files.py
@@ -45,6 +45,29 @@ def test_is_file(self):
         f.delete()
         self.assertFalse(f.is_file())
 
+    def test_is_empty(self):
+        self.assertTrue(self.directory.is_empty())
+        self.directory.write(file_name="test.txt", content="something")
+        self.assertFalse(self.directory.is_empty())
+
+    def test_delete(self):
+        self.assertTrue(
+            Path("test").exists() and Path("test").is_dir(),
+            msg="Sanity check on initial state"
+        )
+        self.directory.write(file_name="test.txt", content="something")
+        self.directory.delete(only_if_empty=True)
+        self.assertFalse(
+            self.directory.is_empty(),
+            msg="Flag argument on delete should have prevented removal"
+        )
+        self.directory.delete()
+        self.assertFalse(
+            Path("test").exists(),
+            msg="Delete should remove the entire directory"
+        )
+        self.directory = DirectoryObject("test")  # Rebuild it so the tearDown works
+
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     unittest.main()