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Linux: Delete all files that are older than X days

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The command find /data/ -type f -mtime +15 -exec rm -f '{}' \; is used to search and delete all the files in the “/data/” directory that have a modification time of more than 15 days old. The following is an explanation of each part of the command:

  1. “find /data/” – This specifies the directory that the search will start from; in this case, it’s the “/data/” directory.
  2. “-type f” – This option specifies that the search should be limited to files, not directories.
  3. “-mtime +15” – This option specifies that the files should be older than 15 days based on the modification time. The “+” sign indicates that we are looking for files older than 15 days.
  4. “-exec rm -f ‘{}’ \;” – This option is used to execute a command on the files found. The command “rm -f ‘{}'” is used to delete the files and the “{}” is a placeholder for the files that are found. The “” at the end of the line is used to escape the semicolon and avoid a syntax error.

The “find /data/ -type f -ctime +15 -exec rm -f ‘{}’ \;” command is similar to the above command, but it searches for files based on their creation time instead of modification time. The “ctime” option specifies that the search should be based on the file creation time instead of the modification time.

In conclusion, both commands are used to delete files in the “/data/” directory that are older than 15 days. Still, the difference is that the first command searches for files based on their modification time, while the second command searches for files based on their creation time.

This post is also available in: Greek

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