0

I have a list file with names of files, i want read one file name from the list at a time and look for it under a directory structure with multiple sub folders and then once found move it into a diff folder.

Ex:

listfile.txt

Content of the file--
filename1.txt
filename2.txt

maindir
|--subdir1
|---subdir2/filename1.txt
|---subdir3/filename2.txt

read file names from listfile.txt one by one and move them to a diff folder say /destfolder.

Any suggestion would be great.

Thanks, Kavin

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

Using a shell loop and calling find once for each filename:

mkdir -p archive_dir
while IFS= read -r filename; do
    find maindir -type f -name "$filename" -exec mv {} archive_dir ';'
done <listfile.txt

This would be slightly inefficient since it would continue looking for matching filenames even after finding the file (and if it found another one, it would overwrite the one already moved).

If using GNU find, you may add -quit to the very end of the find command to make the find process stop after the first file has been moved.

Showing it works:

$ cat listfile.txt
filename1.txt
filename2.txt

.
|-- listfile.txt
`-- maindir
    |-- subdir1
    |-- subdir2
    |   `-- filename1.txt
    `-- subdir3
        `-- filename2.txt

4 directories, 3 files

(running the above loop)

Then:

.
|-- archive_dir
|   |-- filename1.txt
|   `-- filename2.txt
|-- listfile.txt
`-- maindir
    |-- subdir1
    |-- subdir2
    `-- subdir3

5 directories, 3 files

Related:

Improve this answer
12
  • 1
    to make sure it operates only once @Kusalananda, you can use the -quit predicate if available; alternatively tack onto the -exec something that kills the grep'd PID of find.
    – webmarc
    Jun 29, 2018 at 16:09
  • 1
    @webmarc Thanks. I'm on a non-GNU system, so looking up the GNU extensions doesn't come naturally. Added a note about it.
    – Kusalananda ♦
    Jun 29, 2018 at 16:12
  • @Kusalananda Thanks for the quick response. It works fine but only moves the first file from the list, doesn't move the seconds file, what could i be doing wrong ?
    – Kavin Palaniswamy
    Jun 29, 2018 at 16:14
  • @KavinPalaniswamy Does the second file actually exist with the exact filename listed in the input file?
    – Kusalananda ♦
    Jun 29, 2018 at 16:15
  • 1
    @Kusalananda am sorry, i had made a mistake, it works now :)
    – Kavin Palaniswamy
    Jun 29, 2018 at 16:26

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .