Script: Automated Trash Folder Cleaner (Excluding Shared Path)
Script Purpose
This script is designed to help you free up disk space by automatically finding and deleting .Trash-1000 folders within your /home/ubuntu/ directory. It specifically excludes any .Trash-1000 folders located under /home/ubuntu/shared/, ensuring shared data remains untouched. For each found folder, it will show its current size, ask for your confirmation, and then permanently delete the entire folder.
WARNING: This script uses rm -rf, which is a powerful command. Deleting files or directories with rm -rf is permanent and cannot be undone. Please exercise extreme caution and ensure you understand what the script does before running it.
Understanding the .Trash-1000 Folder
When you delete a file or folder from a location like your project directories while working in a Jupyter Notebook environment (or other graphical file management tools), the system often creates a hidden folder named .Trash-1000 in that specific directory. This acts as a local "Recycle Bin" for items deleted from that spot, allowing temporary storage before permanent removal. The 1000 in the name usually refers to your user ID. This script targets and removes these temporary .Trash-1000 folders to reclaim disk space.
How to Create and Run the Script
Follow these steps to create the script file and execute it in your terminal.
1. Create the Script File
You can create the script file by directly pasting the entire command block below into your terminal. This method uses a "here document" to write the multi-line script content into a new file named delete_specific_trash_folders.sh.
cat << 'EOF' > delete_specific_trash_folders.sh
#!/bin/bash
echo "Script will find all '.Trash-1000' folders under /home/ubuntu/ (excluding /home/ubuntu/shared/) and offer to delete them."
echo "This operation will permanently delete the ENTIRE found '.Trash-1000' folders and cannot be undone!"
echo "" # Empty line for readability
# Path to exclude from search
EXCLUDE_PATH="/home/ubuntu/shared"
# Find all .Trash-1000 folders under /home/ubuntu/, excluding EXCLUDE_PATH
# Using -path to exclude the specific directory
TRASH_FOLDERS=($(find /home/ubuntu -type d -name ".Trash-1000" -not -path "${EXCLUDE_PATH}/*" 2>/dev/null))
if [ ${#TRASH_FOLDERS[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
echo "No '.Trash-1000' folders found under /home/ubuntu/ (excluding '$EXCLUDE_PATH/'). Script finished."
exit 0
fi
echo "Found the following '.Trash-1000' folders to process:"
for folder in "${TRASH_FOLDERS[@]}"; do
echo "- $folder"
done
echo ""
# Loop through each found trash folder
for TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH in "${TRASH_FOLDERS[@]}"; do
echo "--- Processing: '$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH' ---"
# --- Display disk usage BEFORE deletion ---
echo "--- Disk Usage BEFORE Deletion ---"
if [ -d "$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH" ]; then
echo "Current disk usage of '$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH':"
du -sh "$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH"
echo "" # Empty line for readability
# Get user confirmation for this specific folder
read -p "Do you want to proceed with deleting the ENTIRE folder '$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH'? (yes/no): " response
# Convert response to lowercase
response=$(echo "$response" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
if [[ "$response" == "yes" ]]; then
echo "Starting deletion of: '$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH'"
# --- Deleting the entire folder ---
rm -rf "$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH"
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
echo "Folder successfully deleted: '$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH'"
else
echo "ERROR: An issue occurred while deleting the folder: '$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH'."
echo "Permissions or another problem might be present. Please check manually."
fi
else
echo "Deletion cancelled for '$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH'."
fi
else
echo "ERROR: Folder '$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH' not found or disappeared unexpectedly. Skipping."
fi
echo "" # Empty line for readability
# --- Display disk usage AFTER deletion (or cancellation) ---
echo "--- Disk Usage AFTER Operation ---"
if [ -d "$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH" ]; then
echo "Folder '$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH' still exists (deletion was cancelled or failed):"
du -sh "$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH"
else
echo "Folder '$TRASH_FOLDER_FULL_PATH' no longer exists. Space has been reclaimed."
fi
echo "" # Empty line for readability
done
echo "Script finished."
EOF
2. Make the Script Executable
After creating the file, you need to give it permission to run as a program. Open your terminal and run the following command in the directory where you saved delete_specific_trash_folders.sh:
3. Run the Script
Once the script is executable, you can run it from your terminal:
The script will then proceed to find the relevant .Trash-1000 folders (excluding the shared path), display their sizes, and prompt you for confirmation for each one before performing any deletion.
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