rmw (Remove to Waste)

Anything that isn’t covered here may be found on the Extra Tips page.

• What is your release cycle?
• Can rmw replace rm? Can I alias rmw to rm?
• How do I know if rmw is compatible with my Desktop trash?
• How does rmw choose which waste folder to use?
• Can I keep a waste folder but stop putting new files in it?
• Does rmw work on Windows?
• Can I use wildcard and regex patterns with rmw?
• Can rmw be run as a scheduled job to purge expired files?

What is your release cycle?

It varies, averaging once or twice a year. If bugs are found and reported, a release will happen sooner depending on the severity. Upcoming releases can be tracked using the Milestones page. The dates may change but Andy tries to keep them as up-to-date as possible.

Can rmw replace rm? Can I alias rmw to rm?

I don’t recommend it. Many other utilities use rm in the background and you’d wind up with a very full trash can. Also, rmw doesn’t have the same command line options as rm (see also: an extended discussion)

How do I know if rmw is compatible with my Desktop trash?

When rmw moves a file to a waste or trash directory, it also writes a .trashinfo file to the corresponding trash directory. The default waste directory that rmw uses is ~/.local/share/Waste, therefore rmw foo would result in

~/.local/share/Waste/files/foo
~/.local/share/Waste/info/foo.trashinfo

The contents of foo.trashinfo would look like this:

[Trash Info]
Path=/home/andy/src/rmw-project/rmw/foo
DeletionDate=2019-07-03T16:48:47

On most *nix and *BSD systems, the desktop trash has the same format, and is located in ~/.local/share/Trash. You can verify that the trashinfo format and directory layout is the same.

If you’re sure that your Desktop trash is compatible, you can add the appropriate line to your rmw configuration file.

How does rmw choose which waste folder to use?

(since 0.10.0)

rmw works with no configuration. It moves a removed file to a trash folder on the same file system as the file; it does not copy files between file systems. To pick one, rmw looks in this order:

1. The waste folders in your configuration file, if you set any.
2. The FreeDesktop.org Trash specification trash for that file system: the home trash (~/.local/share/Trash, the same trash your desktop uses) for files on your home file system, or a trash at the top of the file system (for example, /mnt/disk/.Trash-1000) for other file systems. If one already exists, rmw uses it; if not, rmw creates it when first needed.

rmw does not create a trash folder on file systems that are not meant to hold one, such as temporary (tmpfs) or network file systems. On those, if no configured waste folder matches, rmw does not remove the file. This is the same as how your desktop file manager behaves. A trash folder that is already present on such a file system is still used.

To keep rmw’s files separate from the desktop trash, uncomment WASTE = $HOME/.local/share/Waste in your configuration file.

Run rmw -l to list the waste folders rmw knows about, or rmw -lv to also see the trash folders rmw would create on other file systems.

Can I keep a waste folder but stop putting new files in it?

(since 0.10.0)

Yes. Add the no-add attribute to the folder in your configuration file:

WASTE = /path/to/folder, no-add

rmw will not move new files into a no-add folder, but it still lists the folder, restores files from it, and purges old files in it. This is useful when you want to empty an old waste folder over time without adding anything new to it.

Does rmw work on Windows?

No, and native Windows support is not planned. rmw targets POSIX systems (Linux, the BSDs, and macOS). It does run on the Windows Subsystem for Linux.

Can I use wildcard and regex patterns with rmw?

Yes. For example:

rmw *.txt
rmw test[0-9].txt

Some complex regex expressions won’t work. If you’d like support for a particular pattern that doesn’t already work, please open a ticket.

Can rmw be run as a scheduled job to purge expired files?

Yes. The important rule: only the scheduled job should purge.

In your configuration file, keep purging disabled (this is the default setting):

expire_age = 0

With this setting, rmw never purges when you run it normally. Instead, a cron job gives the number of days on the command line and writes the output to a log file:

30 4 * * 0 rmw -g45 >> "$HOME/.local/state/rmw-purge.log" 2>&1

This job runs every Sunday at 04:30. It permanently deletes waste items that are older than 45 days.

Important details:

• Write the number directly after the option: -g45 or --purge=45. Do not put a space between them. With a space, rmw reads the number as the name of a file to delete.
• cron uses a short PATH. If rmw is installed in a place like ~/.local/bin, write the full path to rmw in the cron line.
• If your configuration file contains force_required, add -f to the command.

With this setup, two purges can never run at the same time. One small risk remains: you could restore a file at the same moment the job deletes it. Desktop trash cleaners have the same small risk.

To stop the log file from growing forever, use logrotate. The log is in your home directory, so use your own logrotate configuration file. A good place for it is rmw’s data directory, which already exists: ~/.local/share/rmw/logrotate.conf. Write the full path to the log file; logrotate does not understand $HOME:

/home/you/.local/state/rmw-purge.log {
  monthly
  rotate 3
  compress
  missingok
  notifempty
}

and run it from the same crontab:

0 5 * * 0 logrotate --state "$HOME/.local/state/logrotate-rmw.state" "$HOME/.local/share/rmw/logrotate.conf"