Trash-cli is a command line interface that trashes files and records the original absolute path, deletion date, and associated permissions. It uses the same trashcan used by popular Linux desktop environments such as KDE, GNOME, and XFCE which can be invoked from the command line (and via scripts).
Trash-cli provides these commands:
$ trash-put #trash files and directories. $ trash-empty #empty the trashcan(s). $ trash-list #list trashed files. $ trash-restore #restore a trashed file. $ trash-rm #remove individual files from the trashcan.
In this article, we will show you how to install and use trash-cli to find the original path, deletion date, and permissions of deleted files in Linux.
How to Install Trash-cli in Linux
The straightforward way of installing trash-cli is by using easy_install tool as follows:
$ sudo apt-get install python-setuptools #Debian/Ubuntu systems $ sudo yum install python-setuptools #RHEL/CentOS systems $ sudo easy_install trash-cli
Else, install Trash-cli from source as shown.
$ git clone https://github.com/andreafrancia/trash-cli.git $ cd trash-cli $ sudo python setup.py install
How to Use Trash-cli in Linux
To trash a specific file, run.
$ trash-put file1
List all trashed files.
$ trash-list 2019-05-05 10:30:48 /home/rootadminz/file1 2019-05-10 13:40:41 /home/rootadminz/file2 2019-05-12 22:30:49 /home/rootadminz/file3 2019-05-12 22:50:48 /home/rootadminz/test
Search for a file in the trashcan.
$ trash-list | grep file 2019-05-05 10:30:48 /home/rootadminz/file1 2019-05-10 13:40:41 /home/rootadminz/file2 2019-05-12 22:30:49 /home/rootadminz/file3
Restore a trashed file.
$ trash-restore 0 2019-05-05 10:30:48 /home/rootadminz/file1 1 2019-05-10 13:40:41 /home/rootadminz/file2 2 2019-05-12 22:30:49 /home/rootadminz/file3 3 2019-05-12 22:50:48 /home/rootadminz/test
Remove all files from the trashcan.
$ trash-empty
Remove only the files that have been deleted more than <days> ago:
$ trash-empty <days>
Here is a demonstration of this command:
$ date Mon May 15 20:26:52 EAT 2019 $ trash-list 2019-05-12 13:51:12 /home/rootadminz/new.txt 2019-05-11 10:41:30 /home/rootadminz/old.txt 2019-04-05 20:43:54 /home/rootadminz/oldest.txt $ trash-empty 7 $ trash-list 2019-05-12 13:51:12 /home/rootadminz/new.txt 2019-05-11 10:41:30 /home/rootadminz/old.txt $ trash-empty 1 $ trash-list 2019-05-12 13:51:12 /home/rootadminz/new.txt
Remove only files matching a pattern.
Do not forget to use quotes in order to protect the pattern from shell expansion:
$ trash-rm \*.txt
