To delete all files with the exception of filename1 and filename2: $ rm -v !('filename1'|'filename2')ĭelete All Files Except Few Files in Linuxģ. To delete all files in a directory except filename, type the command below: $ rm -v !('filename')ĭelete All Files Except One File in LinuxĢ. To use them, enable the extglob shell option as follows: # shopt -s extglobġ. !(pattern-list) – matches anything except one of the given patterns.– matches one of the specified patterns.+(pattern-list) – matches one or more occurrences of the specified patterns.

?(pattern-list) – matches zero or one occurrence of the specified patterns.

*(pattern-list) – matches zero or more occurrences of the specified patterns.

The different extended pattern matching operators are listed below, where pattern-list is a list containing one or more filenames, separated using the | character:

There are three possible methods we shall explore here, and these include: Delete Files Using Extended Pattern Matching Operators In Linux, a shell pattern is a string that consists of the following special characters, which are referred to as wildcards or metacharacters: Suggested Read: Use find Command to Search Multiple Filenames/Extensions in Linux In this article, we will show you how to delete files in a directory except certain file extensions or types using rm, find and globignore commands.īefore we move any further, let us start by briefly having a look at one important concept in Linux – filename pattern matching, which will enable us to deal with our issue at hand. Sometimes you get into a situation where you need to delete all files in a directory or simply cleanup a directory by removing all files except files of a given type (ending with a particular extension).

Mac terminal find directory by name