If you need a simple way to remove files from a cluttered folder in canvas this should help do the trick. It only works in chunks of 100. Run with node.js

removeFiles.js

var Request = require("request");

const folderID = "XXXX"
const access_token = "XXXXXXXXXX"

delete100()

//Get all the files in a given folder ID and remove them. 
function delete100(){
   var url = "https://byui.instructure.com/api/v1/folders/" + folderID + "/files?access_token=" + access_token + "&per_page=100"
      Request.get(url, (error, response, body) => {
          if(error) {
              return console.dir(error);
          }
          //console.dir(JSON.parse(body));
          var data = JSON.parse(body)
          var ids = []
          data.forEach(d => {
            var del = false;
            //Add conditions on which type of file you want to delete
            if(d.filename.indexOf(".xml") > 0)
              del = true
            if(d.filename.indexOf(".dif") > 0)
              del = true
            if(d.filename.indexOf(".wiki") > 0)
              del = true
            if(d.filename.indexOf(".properties") > 0)
              del = true

            if(del) {
              deleteFile(d.id)
            }
          })
      });
}


//A helper function that deletes and individual file. 
function deleteFile(id){
console.dir("deleting file: " + id)

var url = "https://byui.instructure.com/api/v1/files/" + id + "?access_token=" + access_token;
Request.del(url, (error, response, body) => {
    if(error) {
        return console.dir(error);
    }
})

}