Search and delete files older than “N” days1 min read

Praseeb K Das
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Lets see how we can  search specific  files or directory which was created “N” days before and delete.

For example find files older than 60 days,

 

## files only ##
find /path/to/dir/ -type f -mtime +60 -ls

## dirs only ##
find /path/to/dir/ -type d -mtime +60 -ls

Replace the ls with -delete to remove files. Be careful, as you might end up deleting important files.  Always keep backups. Always run -ls option first to check about files.
You have been warned.

find /path/to/dir/ -type f -mtime +60 -delete

How to ask for confirm before deleting


find /path/to/dir/ -type f -mtime +60 -exec /bin/rm -i {} \;

Explanation

  1. find : Find command
  2. /path/to/dir/ : Directory path to search
  3. -type f : Only works on files. (the -type d option only works on dirs)
  4. -mtime +60 : Select file with modification time older than 60 days
  5. -exec /bin/rm -i {} \; : Delete file with confirmation
  6. -delete – Delete file
  7. -ls : list file

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