Delete all files and directories but certain ones using Bash

Question

I'm writing a script that needs to erase everything from a directory except two directories, mysql and temp.

I've tried this:

ls * | grep -v mysql | grep -v temp | xargs rm -rf

but this also keeps all the files that have mysql in their name, that i don't need. it also doesn't delete any other directories.

any ideas?

Solution 1

You may try:

rm -rf !(mysql|init)

Which is POSIX defined:

 Glob patterns can also contain pattern lists. A pattern list is a sequence
of one or more patterns separated by either | or &. ... The following list
describes valid sub-patterns.

...
!(pattern-list):
    Matches any string that does not match the specified pattern-list.
...

Note: Please, take time to test it first! Either create some test folder, or simply echo the parameter substitution, as duly noted by @mnagel:

echo !(mysql|init)

Adding useful information: if the matching is not active, you may to enable/disable it by using:

shopt extglob                   # shows extglob status
shopt -s extglob                # enables extglob
shopt -u extglob                # disables extglob

Solution 2

This is usually a job for find. Try the following command (add -rf if you need a recursive delete):

find . -maxdepth 1 \! \( -name mysql -o -name temp \) -exec rm '{}' \;

(That is, find entries in . but not subdirectories that are not [named mysql or named tmp] and call rm on them.)

Solution 3

You can use find, ignore mysql and temp, and then rm -rf them.

find . ! -iname mysql ! -iname temp -exec rm -rf {} \;

Comments

[Bobo]

works like a charm! thanks! (definitely was testing somewhere else, don't wanna break things)

[Rubens]

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[mnagel]

for testing use echo as in echo !(mysql|init)

[Bobo]

this also deletes the files inside the two folders

[Bobo]

this also deletes the files inside the two folders

[Bobo]

ok this works in the command line, but not in my script. Syntax error: "(" unexpected

[Rubens]

I'm sure this is worth another question! Would you mind to post it? -- I sincerely do not know a solution, but I'm still searching (:

[chrylis -cautiouslyoptimistic-]

Not with the maxdepth option. Remove the -exec rm '{}' \; to get a list of the matching files, which won't include anything below ./.

[Motin]

> ok this works in the command line, but not in my script. Syntax error: "(" unexpected In a script, you need to explicitly enable extended globbing. Put this anywhere above the line: shopt -s extglob See stackoverflow.com/questions/216995/…

[Rubens]

@Motin Duly noted! I've added the information you pointed. Thanks for that!

[Jon L.]

This returns back . as well, so if you're executing rm -Rf, could potentially delete more than you intend...

[ishmael]

Add -mindepth 1 to avoid deleting the current directory.

[mikewaters]

To not delete everything inside these folders, use find . -maxdepth 1 ! -iname mysql ! -iname temp -exec rm -rf {} \;, or even better find . -maxdepth 1 ! -iname mysql ! -iname temp -delete

[kara deniz]

this in turn won't delete anything inside other subdirectories.

[staabm]

note: this will not delete hidden directories like .svn or .git or simliar