tmpwatch - removes files which haven't been accessed for a
period of time
SYNOPSIS
tmpwatch [-u|-m|-c] [-faqstv] [--verbose] [--force]
[--all] [--test]
[--fuser ] [--atime|--mtime|--ctime]
[--quiet] <hours> <dirs>
DESCRIPTION
tmpwatch recursively removes files which haven't been
accessed for a given number of hours. Normally, it's used
to clean up directories which are used for temporary hold
ing space such as /tmp.
When changing directories, tmpwatch is very sensitive to
possible race conditions and will exit with an error if
one is detected. It does not follow symbolic links in the
directories it's cleaning (even if a symbolic link is
given as its argument), will not switch filesystems,
and only removes empty directories and regular files.
By default, tmpwatch dates files by their atime (access
time), not their mtime (modification time). If files
aren't being removed when ls -l implies they should be,
use ls -u to examine their atime to see if that explains
the problem.
If the --atime, --ctime or --mtime options are used in
combination, the decision about deleting a file will be
based on the maximum of this times.
The hours parameter defines the threshold for removing
files. If the file has not been accessed for hours hours,
the file is removed. Following this, one or more directo
ries may be given for tmpwatch to clean up.
OPTIONS
-u, --atime
Make the decision about deleting a file based on
the file's atime (access time). This is the
default.
-m, --mtime
Make the decision about deleting a file based on
the file's mtime (modification time) instead of the
atime.
Make the decision about deleting a file based on
the file's ctime (inode change time) instead of the
atime; for directories, make the decision based on
the mtime.
-a, --all
Remove all file types, not just regular files and
directories.
-d, --nodirs
Do not attempt to remove directories, even if they
are empty.
-f, --force
Remove files even if root doesn't have write access
(akin to rm -f).
-t, --test
Doesn't remove files, but goes through the motions
of removing them. This implies -v.
-s, --fuser
Attempt to use the "fuser" command to see if a file
is already open before removing it. Not enabled by
default. Does help in some circumstances, but not
all. Dependent on fuser being installed in /sbin.
-v, --verbose
Print a verbose display. Two levels of verboseness
are available -- use this option twice to get the
most verbose output.
SEE ALSO
cron(1), ls(1), rm(1), fuser(1)
WARNINGS
GNU-style long options are not supported on HP-UX.
AUTHORS
Erik Troan <ewt@redhat.com>
Preston Brown <pbrown@redhat.com>
Nalin Dahyabhai <nalin@redhat.com>
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