diff --git a/.changeset/silent-kings-live.md b/.changeset/silent-kings-live.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7e55f5ae78
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/silent-kings-live.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend': patch
+---
+
+Removed the depreacated `publish:file` action, use the template editor to test templates instead.
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/api-report.md b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/api-report.md
index 7c24bdc572..123591b1f3 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/api-report.md
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/api-report.md
@@ -303,11 +303,6 @@ export function createPublishBitbucketServerAction(options: {
   token?: string | undefined;
 }>;
 
-// @public @deprecated
-export function createPublishFileAction(): TemplateAction<{
-  path: string;
-}>;
-
 // @public
 export function createPublishGerritAction(options: {
   integrations: ScmIntegrationRegistry;
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/file.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/file.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 52376e39a3..0000000000
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/file.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,65 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2021 The Backstage Authors
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-
-import fs from 'fs-extra';
-import { dirname } from 'path';
-import { InputError } from '@backstage/errors';
-import { createTemplateAction } from '../../createTemplateAction';
-
-/**
- * This task is useful for local development and testing of both the scaffolder
- * and scaffolder templates.
- *
- * @remarks
- *
- * This action is not installed by default and should not be installed in
- * production, as it writes the files to the local filesystem of the scaffolder.
- *
- * @public
- * @deprecated This action will be removed, prefer testing templates using the template editor instead.
- */
-export function createPublishFileAction() {
-  return createTemplateAction<{ path: string }>({
-    id: 'publish:file',
-    description: 'Writes contents of the workspace to a local directory',
-    schema: {
-      input: {
-        type: 'object',
-        required: ['path'],
-        properties: {
-          path: {
-            title: 'Path to a directory where the output will be written',
-            type: 'string',
-          },
-        },
-      },
-    },
-    async handler(ctx) {
-      ctx.logger.warn(
-        '[DEPRECATED] This action will be removed, prefer testing templates using the template editor instead.',
-      );
-
-      const { path } = ctx.input;
-
-      const exists = await fs.pathExists(path);
-      if (exists) {
-        throw new InputError('Output path already exists');
-      }
-      await fs.ensureDir(dirname(path));
-      await fs.copy(ctx.workspacePath, path);
-    },
-  });
-}
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/index.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/index.ts
index 8819c93d08..a8a40ab1df 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/index.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/index.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ export { createPublishAzureAction } from './azure';
 export { createPublishBitbucketAction } from './bitbucket';
 export { createPublishBitbucketCloudAction } from './bitbucketCloud';
 export { createPublishBitbucketServerAction } from './bitbucketServer';
-export { createPublishFileAction } from './file';
 export { createPublishGerritAction } from './gerrit';
 export { createPublishGerritReviewAction } from './gerritReview';
 export { createPublishGithubAction } from './github';