Delete files that exist in the source with rsync
I have a folder on server "A" called ./delete.
I want to delete everything in the folder ./stuff on server "B" that exists in the ./delete folder on server "A".
Its like the reverse of rsync. instead of transferring files from a:/delete to b:/stuff I want to just delete all the files that are in both places on server "B".
like a --delete-on-destination flag or something.
rsync rm
edited Aug 21 '13 at 22:24
Gilles
543k12811001617
asked Aug 21 '13 at 3:13
chovychovy
5493616
add a comment |
I have a folder on server "A" called ./delete.
I want to delete everything in the folder ./stuff on server "B" that exists in the ./delete folder on server "A".
Its like the reverse of rsync. instead of transferring files from a:/delete to b:/stuff I want to just delete all the files that are in both places on server "B".
like a --delete-on-destination flag or something.
rsync rm
edited Aug 21 '13 at 22:24
Gilles
543k12811001617
asked Aug 21 '13 at 3:13
chovychovy
5493616
add a comment |
I have a folder on server "A" called ./delete.
I want to delete everything in the folder ./stuff on server "B" that exists in the ./delete folder on server "A".
Its like the reverse of rsync. instead of transferring files from a:/delete to b:/stuff I want to just delete all the files that are in both places on server "B".
like a --delete-on-destination flag or something.
rsync rm
edited Aug 21 '13 at 22:24
Gilles
543k12811001617
asked Aug 21 '13 at 3:13
chovychovy
5493616
I have a folder on server "A" called ./delete.
I want to delete everything in the folder ./stuff on server "B" that exists in the ./delete folder on server "A".
Its like the reverse of rsync. instead of transferring files from a:/delete to b:/stuff I want to just delete all the files that are in both places on server "B".
like a --delete-on-destination flag or something.
rsync rm
rsync rm
edited Aug 21 '13 at 22:24
Gilles
543k12811001617
asked Aug 21 '13 at 3:13
chovychovy
5493616
edited Aug 21 '13 at 22:24
Gilles
543k12811001617
asked Aug 21 '13 at 3:13
chovychovy
5493616
edited Aug 21 '13 at 22:24
Gilles
543k12811001617
edited Aug 21 '13 at 22:24
Gilles
543k12811001617
edited Aug 21 '13 at 22:24
Gilles
543k12811001617
543k12811001617
asked Aug 21 '13 at 3:13
chovychovy
5493616
asked Aug 21 '13 at 3:13
chovychovy
5493616
asked Aug 21 '13 at 3:13
chovychovy
5493616
5493616
add a comment |
add a comment |
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
I don't think that rsync can resolve your problem. But another sync tool might be able to help you. Take a look at unison.
Unison has many features and can sync two folders on different machines. Unison is written in OCaml that is a charming functionional language.
Rsync is a unidirectional sync tool.Unison is a bidirectional sync tool.
answered Aug 21 '13 at 6:13
Edward ShenEdward Shen
67237
thanks. i used a series of scripts to accomplish what I wanted, but this might work.
– chovy
Aug 21 '13 at 7:46
How would Unison help here? The purpose isn't to synchronize the two directories at all.
– Gilles
Aug 21 '13 at 22:26
after looking at unison, I figure it was just a blanket answer without really reading the problem I am faced with.
– chovy
Aug 22 '13 at 5:33
Unison can keep the two folder on different machine sync.If clientA delete some files,clientB will delete some files too!
– Edward Shen
Aug 23 '13 at 1:49
add a comment |
File copy tools such as rsync aren't going to help you easily since you don't want to copy any files.
The straightforward approach of listing the files on server A and erasing these files on server B is a good one in most circumstances. It's easier to cope with arbitrary file names if your servers' find and xargs commands understand null separators (Linux, *BSD, Cygwin). From A:
cd ./delete
find . ! -type d -print0 | ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && xargs -0 rm -f'
This may leave some empty directories behind. You can delete all empty directories (even the ones that were empty before) with
ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && find . -depth -type d -exec rmdir {} + 2>/dev/null'
If you only want to remove directories that existed on the source side, you'll need to use the list again:
find . -depth -type d -print0 | ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && xargs -0 rmdir'
If there are directory trees on A that contain a lot of files and don't exist on B, this transfers the whole list of files to erase where a well-chosen rm -rf on B would do the same work locally on B but would save a lot of bandwidth in the transfer. This is the kind of situation where a file synchronization tool would fare well. You could run rsync -nv and try to parse the output, but it isn't easy to build something reliable on this.
answered Aug 21 '13 at 22:27
GillesGilles
543k12811001617
this only works on files. not directories, and I believe it deletes the files from A, not B.
– chovy
Aug 22 '13 at 5:32
@chovy Indeed, I'd misread your question. I don't think file synchronization tools will help much since you aren't copying files. Although, hmmm, there might be a way to build something withrsync --remove-source-files --compare-dest
– Gilles
Aug 22 '13 at 23:33
i don't understand what--compare-destdoes.
– chovy
Aug 24 '13 at 21:13
add a comment |
I wanted to do this also, and decided to just write a ruby script for it.
Here you go:
https://github.com/saizai/utils/blob/master/rm_dupes_from.rb
answered Feb 27 at 15:09
SaiSai
1011
add a comment |
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3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
I don't think that rsync can resolve your problem. But another sync tool might be able to help you. Take a look at unison.
Unison has many features and can sync two folders on different machines. Unison is written in OCaml that is a charming functionional language.
Rsync is a unidirectional sync tool.Unison is a bidirectional sync tool.
answered Aug 21 '13 at 6:13
Edward ShenEdward Shen
67237
thanks. i used a series of scripts to accomplish what I wanted, but this might work.
– chovy
Aug 21 '13 at 7:46
How would Unison help here? The purpose isn't to synchronize the two directories at all.
– Gilles
Aug 21 '13 at 22:26
after looking at unison, I figure it was just a blanket answer without really reading the problem I am faced with.
– chovy
Aug 22 '13 at 5:33
Unison can keep the two folder on different machine sync.If clientA delete some files,clientB will delete some files too!
– Edward Shen
Aug 23 '13 at 1:49
add a comment |
I don't think that rsync can resolve your problem. But another sync tool might be able to help you. Take a look at unison.
Unison has many features and can sync two folders on different machines. Unison is written in OCaml that is a charming functionional language.
Rsync is a unidirectional sync tool.Unison is a bidirectional sync tool.
answered Aug 21 '13 at 6:13
Edward ShenEdward Shen
67237
thanks. i used a series of scripts to accomplish what I wanted, but this might work.
– chovy
Aug 21 '13 at 7:46
How would Unison help here? The purpose isn't to synchronize the two directories at all.
– Gilles
Aug 21 '13 at 22:26
after looking at unison, I figure it was just a blanket answer without really reading the problem I am faced with.
– chovy
Aug 22 '13 at 5:33
Unison can keep the two folder on different machine sync.If clientA delete some files,clientB will delete some files too!
– Edward Shen
Aug 23 '13 at 1:49
add a comment |
I don't think that rsync can resolve your problem. But another sync tool might be able to help you. Take a look at unison.
Unison has many features and can sync two folders on different machines. Unison is written in OCaml that is a charming functionional language.
Rsync is a unidirectional sync tool.Unison is a bidirectional sync tool.
answered Aug 21 '13 at 6:13
Edward ShenEdward Shen
67237
I don't think that rsync can resolve your problem. But another sync tool might be able to help you. Take a look at unison.
Unison has many features and can sync two folders on different machines. Unison is written in OCaml that is a charming functionional language.
Rsync is a unidirectional sync tool.Unison is a bidirectional sync tool.
answered Aug 21 '13 at 6:13
Edward ShenEdward Shen
67237
edited Aug 21 '13 at 9:34
answered Aug 21 '13 at 6:13
Edward ShenEdward Shen
67237
answered Aug 21 '13 at 6:13
Edward ShenEdward Shen
67237
answered Aug 21 '13 at 6:13
Edward ShenEdward Shen
67237
67237
thanks. i used a series of scripts to accomplish what I wanted, but this might work.
– chovy
Aug 21 '13 at 7:46
How would Unison help here? The purpose isn't to synchronize the two directories at all.
– Gilles
Aug 21 '13 at 22:26
after looking at unison, I figure it was just a blanket answer without really reading the problem I am faced with.
– chovy
Aug 22 '13 at 5:33
Unison can keep the two folder on different machine sync.If clientA delete some files,clientB will delete some files too!
– Edward Shen
Aug 23 '13 at 1:49
add a comment |
thanks. i used a series of scripts to accomplish what I wanted, but this might work.
– chovy
Aug 21 '13 at 7:46
How would Unison help here? The purpose isn't to synchronize the two directories at all.
– Gilles
Aug 21 '13 at 22:26
after looking at unison, I figure it was just a blanket answer without really reading the problem I am faced with.
– chovy
Aug 22 '13 at 5:33
Unison can keep the two folder on different machine sync.If clientA delete some files,clientB will delete some files too!
– Edward Shen
Aug 23 '13 at 1:49
thanks. i used a series of scripts to accomplish what I wanted, but this might work.
– chovy
Aug 21 '13 at 7:46
thanks. i used a series of scripts to accomplish what I wanted, but this might work.
– chovy
Aug 21 '13 at 7:46
How would Unison help here? The purpose isn't to synchronize the two directories at all.
– Gilles
Aug 21 '13 at 22:26
How would Unison help here? The purpose isn't to synchronize the two directories at all.
– Gilles
Aug 21 '13 at 22:26
after looking at unison, I figure it was just a blanket answer without really reading the problem I am faced with.
– chovy
Aug 22 '13 at 5:33
after looking at unison, I figure it was just a blanket answer without really reading the problem I am faced with.
– chovy
Aug 22 '13 at 5:33
Unison can keep the two folder on different machine sync.If clientA delete some files,clientB will delete some files too!
– Edward Shen
Aug 23 '13 at 1:49
Unison can keep the two folder on different machine sync.If clientA delete some files,clientB will delete some files too!
– Edward Shen
Aug 23 '13 at 1:49
add a comment |
File copy tools such as rsync aren't going to help you easily since you don't want to copy any files.
The straightforward approach of listing the files on server A and erasing these files on server B is a good one in most circumstances. It's easier to cope with arbitrary file names if your servers' find and xargs commands understand null separators (Linux, *BSD, Cygwin). From A:
cd ./delete
find . ! -type d -print0 | ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && xargs -0 rm -f'
This may leave some empty directories behind. You can delete all empty directories (even the ones that were empty before) with
ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && find . -depth -type d -exec rmdir {} + 2>/dev/null'
If you only want to remove directories that existed on the source side, you'll need to use the list again:
find . -depth -type d -print0 | ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && xargs -0 rmdir'
If there are directory trees on A that contain a lot of files and don't exist on B, this transfers the whole list of files to erase where a well-chosen rm -rf on B would do the same work locally on B but would save a lot of bandwidth in the transfer. This is the kind of situation where a file synchronization tool would fare well. You could run rsync -nv and try to parse the output, but it isn't easy to build something reliable on this.
answered Aug 21 '13 at 22:27
GillesGilles
543k12811001617
this only works on files. not directories, and I believe it deletes the files from A, not B.
– chovy
Aug 22 '13 at 5:32
@chovy Indeed, I'd misread your question. I don't think file synchronization tools will help much since you aren't copying files. Although, hmmm, there might be a way to build something withrsync --remove-source-files --compare-dest
– Gilles
Aug 22 '13 at 23:33
i don't understand what--compare-destdoes.
– chovy
Aug 24 '13 at 21:13
add a comment |
File copy tools such as rsync aren't going to help you easily since you don't want to copy any files.
The straightforward approach of listing the files on server A and erasing these files on server B is a good one in most circumstances. It's easier to cope with arbitrary file names if your servers' find and xargs commands understand null separators (Linux, *BSD, Cygwin). From A:
cd ./delete
find . ! -type d -print0 | ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && xargs -0 rm -f'
This may leave some empty directories behind. You can delete all empty directories (even the ones that were empty before) with
ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && find . -depth -type d -exec rmdir {} + 2>/dev/null'
If you only want to remove directories that existed on the source side, you'll need to use the list again:
find . -depth -type d -print0 | ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && xargs -0 rmdir'
If there are directory trees on A that contain a lot of files and don't exist on B, this transfers the whole list of files to erase where a well-chosen rm -rf on B would do the same work locally on B but would save a lot of bandwidth in the transfer. This is the kind of situation where a file synchronization tool would fare well. You could run rsync -nv and try to parse the output, but it isn't easy to build something reliable on this.
answered Aug 21 '13 at 22:27
GillesGilles
543k12811001617
this only works on files. not directories, and I believe it deletes the files from A, not B.
– chovy
Aug 22 '13 at 5:32
@chovy Indeed, I'd misread your question. I don't think file synchronization tools will help much since you aren't copying files. Although, hmmm, there might be a way to build something withrsync --remove-source-files --compare-dest
– Gilles
Aug 22 '13 at 23:33
i don't understand what--compare-destdoes.
– chovy
Aug 24 '13 at 21:13
add a comment |
File copy tools such as rsync aren't going to help you easily since you don't want to copy any files.
The straightforward approach of listing the files on server A and erasing these files on server B is a good one in most circumstances. It's easier to cope with arbitrary file names if your servers' find and xargs commands understand null separators (Linux, *BSD, Cygwin). From A:
cd ./delete
find . ! -type d -print0 | ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && xargs -0 rm -f'
This may leave some empty directories behind. You can delete all empty directories (even the ones that were empty before) with
ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && find . -depth -type d -exec rmdir {} + 2>/dev/null'
If you only want to remove directories that existed on the source side, you'll need to use the list again:
find . -depth -type d -print0 | ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && xargs -0 rmdir'
If there are directory trees on A that contain a lot of files and don't exist on B, this transfers the whole list of files to erase where a well-chosen rm -rf on B would do the same work locally on B but would save a lot of bandwidth in the transfer. This is the kind of situation where a file synchronization tool would fare well. You could run rsync -nv and try to parse the output, but it isn't easy to build something reliable on this.
answered Aug 21 '13 at 22:27
GillesGilles
543k12811001617
File copy tools such as rsync aren't going to help you easily since you don't want to copy any files.
The straightforward approach of listing the files on server A and erasing these files on server B is a good one in most circumstances. It's easier to cope with arbitrary file names if your servers' find and xargs commands understand null separators (Linux, *BSD, Cygwin). From A:
cd ./delete
find . ! -type d -print0 | ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && xargs -0 rm -f'
This may leave some empty directories behind. You can delete all empty directories (even the ones that were empty before) with
ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && find . -depth -type d -exec rmdir {} + 2>/dev/null'
If you only want to remove directories that existed on the source side, you'll need to use the list again:
find . -depth -type d -print0 | ssh B 'cd /path/to/stuff && xargs -0 rmdir'
If there are directory trees on A that contain a lot of files and don't exist on B, this transfers the whole list of files to erase where a well-chosen rm -rf on B would do the same work locally on B but would save a lot of bandwidth in the transfer. This is the kind of situation where a file synchronization tool would fare well. You could run rsync -nv and try to parse the output, but it isn't easy to build something reliable on this.
answered Aug 21 '13 at 22:27
GillesGilles
543k12811001617
edited Aug 22 '13 at 23:32
answered Aug 21 '13 at 22:27
GillesGilles
543k12811001617
answered Aug 21 '13 at 22:27
GillesGilles
543k12811001617
answered Aug 21 '13 at 22:27
GillesGilles
543k12811001617
543k12811001617
this only works on files. not directories, and I believe it deletes the files from A, not B.
– chovy
Aug 22 '13 at 5:32
@chovy Indeed, I'd misread your question. I don't think file synchronization tools will help much since you aren't copying files. Although, hmmm, there might be a way to build something withrsync --remove-source-files --compare-dest
– Gilles
Aug 22 '13 at 23:33
i don't understand what--compare-destdoes.
– chovy
Aug 24 '13 at 21:13
add a comment |
this only works on files. not directories, and I believe it deletes the files from A, not B.
– chovy
Aug 22 '13 at 5:32
@chovy Indeed, I'd misread your question. I don't think file synchronization tools will help much since you aren't copying files. Although, hmmm, there might be a way to build something withrsync --remove-source-files --compare-dest
– Gilles
Aug 22 '13 at 23:33
i don't understand what--compare-destdoes.
– chovy
Aug 24 '13 at 21:13
this only works on files. not directories, and I believe it deletes the files from A, not B.
– chovy
Aug 22 '13 at 5:32
this only works on files. not directories, and I believe it deletes the files from A, not B.
– chovy
Aug 22 '13 at 5:32
@chovy Indeed, I'd misread your question. I don't think file synchronization tools will help much since you aren't copying files. Although, hmmm, there might be a way to build something with
rsync --remove-source-files --compare-dest– Gilles
Aug 22 '13 at 23:33
@chovy Indeed, I'd misread your question. I don't think file synchronization tools will help much since you aren't copying files. Although, hmmm, there might be a way to build something with
rsync --remove-source-files --compare-dest– Gilles
Aug 22 '13 at 23:33
i don't understand what
--compare-dest does.– chovy
Aug 24 '13 at 21:13
i don't understand what
--compare-dest does.– chovy
Aug 24 '13 at 21:13
add a comment |
I wanted to do this also, and decided to just write a ruby script for it.
Here you go:
https://github.com/saizai/utils/blob/master/rm_dupes_from.rb
answered Feb 27 at 15:09
SaiSai
1011
add a comment |
I wanted to do this also, and decided to just write a ruby script for it.
Here you go:
https://github.com/saizai/utils/blob/master/rm_dupes_from.rb
answered Feb 27 at 15:09
SaiSai
1011
add a comment |
I wanted to do this also, and decided to just write a ruby script for it.
Here you go:
https://github.com/saizai/utils/blob/master/rm_dupes_from.rb
answered Feb 27 at 15:09
SaiSai
1011
I wanted to do this also, and decided to just write a ruby script for it.
Here you go:
https://github.com/saizai/utils/blob/master/rm_dupes_from.rb
answered Feb 27 at 15:09
SaiSai
1011
answered Feb 27 at 15:09
SaiSai
1011
answered Feb 27 at 15:09
SaiSai
1011
answered Feb 27 at 15:09
SaiSai
1011
1011
add a comment |
add a comment |
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