How to Clean Up Old Files Based on Age and Size Like a Pro

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Managing disk space is a key responsibility for sysadmins, developers, and DevOps engineers alike. Over time, temporary directories, media folders, and backups accumulate outdated or oversized files that eat into precious storage. Left unchecked, this can lead to full disks, failed deployments, or even data loss.

In this tech concept, you’ll learn how to clean up old files based on age and size like a pro, using a combination of find, du, and xargs. We’ll cover safe deletion practices, moving files to archive folders, handling hidden files, permission concerns, and real-world cleanup strategies for common directories like /tmp, /var/log, and media libraries.

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Why Combine Age and Size for Cleanup?

Cleaning based only on size might keep your disk space low, but may delete recent files. Cleaning only by age might keep old but tiny files. The ideal cleanup strategy combines both:

Delete files older than X days
Filter files that are larger than Y MB
Handle hidden files and restricted permissions
Provide a safety prompt or move files to an archive first

Prerequisites

You’ll need:

Basic knowledge of the Linux shell
Access to find, du, and xargs (installed by default on most systems)
Sudo access if targeting system directories (e.g., /var/log, /tmp)

Step 1: Identify Old and Large Files with `find`

To find files older than 30 days and larger than 100MB:

find /path/to/dir -type f -mtime +30 -size +100M

-type f: Only files (ignores directories)
-mtime +30: Modified more than 30 days ago
-size +100M: Size greater than 100MB

Example: Check /tmp for old, large files

find /tmp -type f -mtime +15 -size +50M

Step 2: View Disk Usage with `du` for Context

Before deleting anything, it’s smart to see how much space is being used.

du -sh /tmp

Or for more detail:

du -ah /tmp | sort -hr | head -n 20

This shows the 20 largest items in /tmp, sorted by size.

Step 3: Safely Delete Files with `xargs` + Confirmation

To delete interactively, use xargs with rm -i:

find /tmp -type f -mtime +15 -size +50M -print0 | xargs -0 rm -i

-print0 and -0 handle filenames with spaces
rm -i prompts before each deletion

Step 4: Move Files to an Archive Instead of Deleting

If you want to archive before deleting, create an archive folder and move matching files:

mkdir -p ~/old_files_archive

find /var/log -type f -mtime +60 -size +10M -exec mv {} ~/old_files_archive/ \;

Later, you can back them up, compress, or delete as needed.

Step 5: Handle Hidden Files and Dotfiles

Hidden files (starting with .) are often skipped, but you may want to clean them too. find doesn’t ignore them unless specified.

find /home/user/.cache -type f -mtime +20 -size +5M

To clean both visible and hidden files:

find /home/user -type f -name ".*" -mtime +30 -size +10M

Or just drop -name altogether and scan the full directory tree.

Step 6: Manage Permission Issues

When dealing with system directories, you’ll often hit permission-denied errors. Prefix with sudo:

sudo find /var/log -type f -mtime +60 -size +10M -delete

⚠️ Use -delete only after verifying with -ls or -print first.

Example safe dry-run before real deletion:

sudo find /var/log -type f -mtime +60 -size +10M -exec ls -lh {} \;

Step 7: Wrap It Up in a Cleanup Script

Here’s a reusable Bash script for automated cleanups:

#!/bin/bash

TARGET_DIR="/tmp"
AGE_DAYS=15
SIZE_LIMIT="+50M"
ARCHIVE_DIR="$HOME/tmp_archive"

mkdir -p "$ARCHIVE_DIR"

find "$TARGET_DIR" -type f -mtime +"$AGE_DAYS" -size "$SIZE_LIMIT" -exec mv -v {} "$ARCHIVE_DIR" \;

echo "Moved files older than $AGE_DAYS days and larger than $SIZE_LIMIT to $ARCHIVE_DIR"

Make it executable and schedule with cron if needed:

chmod +x cleanup_tmp.sh

Step 8: Real-World Examples

1. Clean `/tmp` Directory Automatically

sudo find /tmp -type f -mtime +10 -size +20M -delete

Schedule it with cron to run every night:

0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/cleanup_tmp.sh

2. Clean Media Directories

find ~/Videos -type f -mtime +60 -size +500M -print0 | xargs -0 rm -i

This interactively deletes large videos not accessed in the last 2 months.

Bonus: Dry Run Before Destruction

Always dry-run before deletion:

find /path/to/check -type f -mtime +30 -size +100M -exec ls -lh {} \;

This lets you audit what will be deleted or archived.

My Tech Advice: Disk cleanup is not just about saving space—it’s about improving system performance, avoiding service outages, and staying organized. By combining find, du, and xargs, you can build a powerful, automated, and safe cleanup strategy tailored to your needs. Whether it’s cleaning /tmp, archiving logs, or pruning a bloated media directory, mastering this approach makes you a true command-line pro.
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