Delete subdirectories leaving a given one

Question

I need to delete all sub directories and their contents in a given folder, whilst leaving a particular sub directory. Is there a way to do this using bash or a shell script? The file structure is shown below.

container_dir
│
├── delete_this_dir
│   ├── file1.txt
│   └── file2.txt
│
├── delete_this_dir
│   ├── l1.txt
│   └── l2.txt
│
└── keep_this_dir
    ├── file1.txt
    ├── file2.txt
    └── file3.txt

Can't you just backup directory which you want to leave and delete recursively container_dir ? — mrc02_kr, Jul 12 '17 at 13:17
What is your criteria to delete or keep a particular subdirectory? — , Jul 12 '17 at 13:37

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 12 '17 at 13:34

1

In bash, use extglob to exclude the directory you want to keep:

shopt -s extglob
rm -rf container_dir/!(keep_this_dir)

answered Jul 12 '17 at 13:34

Jeff Schaller

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mrc02_kr · Answer 2 · 2017-07-12T13:40:42.367

0

Backup this container_dir and try this:

find $container_dir/* -path $keep_this_dir -prune -o -name "*" -type d -exec rm -rfv {} \;

But I recommend to use simpler solution with backup

edited Jul 12 '17 at 13:40

answered Jul 12 '17 at 13:33

mrc02_kr

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 12 '17 at 13:49

If it is only name by which you identify what directory to keep, then you could do as follows:

cd container_dir && \
find . -maxdepth 1 -type d ! -name . ! -name keep_this_dir -exec rm -r {} +

Meaning, change over to the container dir, then launch a find from there but only till depth levels of 1 and search only amongst directories at that level. From this pool of directories that find acquires, keep off just two, viz., the container_dir and the keep_this_dir. Rest all to be culled.

Delete subdirectories leaving a given one

3 Answers3