Dangerous Commands

Print a Dry-Run Removal Script

You have cleanup candidates and need a human-reviewable removal plan instead of executing deletion directly from find.

Command

find /lab/disk-inode-cleanup/var/tmp/uploads -xdev -type f -mtime +7 -printf 'rm -i -- %p\n'

What changed

Nothing changes. The command prints interactive rm commands as text and does not execute them.

Danger

caution

When to use it

Use when turning a candidate list into a reviewed cleanup plan for a small, well-understood path.

When not to use it

Do not pipe generated removal commands into a shell; review, quote, and execute intentionally if cleanup is approved.

Undo or recovery

No undo needed for the dry run. If a printed command is later executed, restore from backup or the source system.

Expected output

One printed rm -i command per old cleanup candidate.

demo script

Disposable terminal steps

find /lab/disk-inode-cleanup/var/tmp/uploads -xdev -type f -mtime +7 -printf '%TY-%Tm-%Td %p\n' | sort
find /lab/disk-inode-cleanup/var/tmp/uploads -xdev -type f -mtime +7 -printf 'rm -i -- %p\n'

Terminal transcript Demo JSON

simulated output

What it looks like

disposable vessel

::fixture-ready::
$ find /lab/disk-inode-cleanup/var/tmp/uploads -xdev -type f -mtime +7 -printf '%TY-%Tm-%Td %p\n' | sort
2026-06-01 /lab/disk-inode-cleanup/var/tmp/uploads/old-export.tar
::exit-code::0
$ find /lab/disk-inode-cleanup/var/tmp/uploads -xdev -type f -mtime +7 -printf 'rm -i -- %p\n'
rm -i -- /lab/disk-inode-cleanup/var/tmp/uploads/old-export.tar
::exit-code::0

YouTube Short

Print cleanup commands first.

If deletion is on the table, print the exact rm commands first. Review the plan before anything touches the files.

experiments

A/B tests to run

Metric: save_rate

A: Print the cleanup plan first.

B: Never pipe cleanup straight into a shell.