bash - Shell script to delete directories older than n days

Bash - Shell script to delete directories older than n days

To delete directories older than n days using a Bash script, you can use a combination of find and rm commands. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to achieve this:

Bash Script to Delete Old Directories

#!/bin/bash # Directory to search for old directories DIRECTORY="/path/to/parent/directory" # Number of days DAYS=7 # Find directories older than specified days and delete them find $DIRECTORY -type d -mtime +$DAYS -exec rm -r {} +

Explanation:

  1. Variables:

    • DIRECTORY: Specify the directory path where you want to search for and delete old directories. Replace "/path/to/parent/directory" with your actual directory path.
    • DAYS: Specify the number of days. Directories older than this number of days will be deleted. Change 7 to your desired number of days.

  2. find Command:

    • find $DIRECTORY -type d -mtime +$DAYS: Finds directories (-type d) within $DIRECTORY that are modified more than $DAYS days ago (-mtime +$DAYS).
    • -exec rm -r {} +: Executes rm -r (recursive remove) command on each found directory ({}), recursively deleting its contents and the directory itself.

Notes:

  • Safety Precautions: Ensure you specify the correct directory path and test the script in a safe environment before running it on production data.
  • Permissions: Make sure the script has sufficient permissions to delete directories and their contents.
  • Testing: It's recommended to first run the find command without -exec rm -r {} + to verify which directories will be deleted.
  • Cron Job: You can schedule this script as a cron job to run periodically to clean up old directories automatically.

This script provides a straightforward way to delete directories older than a specified number of days using Bash and the find command. Adjust the DIRECTORY and DAYS variables as per your specific requirements and environment.

Examples

  1. Bash script to delete directories older than n days

    • Description: This query focuses on creating a bash script that deletes directories older than a specified number of days using the find command.
    • Code:
      #!/bin/bash find /path/to/directories -type d -mtime +n -exec rm -rf {} \;
      Replace /path/to/directories with the actual directory path and n with the number of days.

  2. Shell script to delete files and directories older than n days

    • Description: This query describes a script to delete both files and directories older than a specified number of days.
    • Code:
      #!/bin/bash find /path/to/location -mtime +n -exec rm -rf {} \;
      Replace /path/to/location with the target directory path and n with the number of days.

  3. Automating directory cleanup with a bash script

    • Description: This query explains how to automate the cleanup of directories older than a specified number of days using a cron job.
    • Code:
      #!/bin/bash find /path/to/directories -type d -mtime +n -exec rm -rf {} \; # Add the script to cron for daily cleanup crontab -e # Add the following line to the crontab file 0 2 * * * /path/to/your_script.sh
      Replace /path/to/directories and n as needed, and save the script at /path/to/your_script.sh.

  4. Delete empty directories older than n days using bash

    • Description: This query covers deleting only empty directories older than a specified number of days.
    • Code:
      #!/bin/bash find /path/to/directories -type d -empty -mtime +n -exec rm -rf {} \;
      Replace /path/to/directories and n as needed.

  5. Bash script to remove old backup directories

    • Description: This query focuses on a script to clean up old backup directories.
    • Code:
      #!/bin/bash BACKUP_DIR="/path/to/backups" DAYS=30 find "$BACKUP_DIR" -type d -mtime +$DAYS -exec rm -rf {} \;
      Replace /path/to/backups and DAYS as needed.

  6. Removing old log directories with a bash script

    • Description: This query explains how to delete old log directories using a bash script.
    • Code:
      #!/bin/bash LOG_DIR="/path/to/logs" DAYS=7 find "$LOG_DIR" -type d -mtime +$DAYS -exec rm -rf {} \;
      Replace /path/to/logs and DAYS as needed.

  7. Delete user directories older than n days

    • Description: This query describes a script to delete user-specific directories older than a specified number of days.
    • Code:
      #!/bin/bash USER_DIR="/home/user/specific_directories" DAYS=15 find "$USER_DIR" -type d -mtime +$DAYS -exec rm -rf {} \;
      Replace /home/user/specific_directories and DAYS as needed.

  8. Cleanup temporary directories older than n days

    • Description: This query focuses on cleaning up temporary directories using a bash script.
    • Code:
      #!/bin/bash TEMP_DIR="/path/to/temp" DAYS=3 find "$TEMP_DIR" -type d -mtime +$DAYS -exec rm -rf {} \;
      Replace /path/to/temp and DAYS as needed.

  9. Delete directories recursively older than n days

    • Description: This query covers deleting directories recursively that are older than a specified number of days.
    • Code:
      #!/bin/bash ROOT_DIR="/path/to/root" DAYS=20 find "$ROOT_DIR" -type d -mtime +$DAYS -exec rm -rf {} \;
      Replace /path/to/root and DAYS as needed.

  10. Bash script to delete old directories with logging

    • Description: This query describes a script that logs the deletion of old directories.
    • Code:
      #!/bin/bash DIR="/path/to/directories" DAYS=10 LOGFILE="/path/to/logfile.log" find "$DIR" -type d -mtime +$DAYS -exec rm -rf {} \; -exec echo "$(date): Deleted {}" >> "$LOGFILE" \;
      Replace /path/to/directories, DAYS, and /path/to/logfile.log as needed.

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