Argument list too long error for rm, cp, mv commands

Question

I have several hundred PDFs under a directory in UNIX. The names of the PDFs are really long (approx. 60 chars).

When I try to delete all PDFs together using the fol

Answer 1

To delete all *.pdf in a directory /path/to/dir_with_pdf_files/

mkdir empty_dir        # Create temp empty dir

rsync -avh --delete --include '*.pdf' empty_dir/ /path/to/dir_with_pdf_files/

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To delete specific files via rsync using wildcard is probably the fastest solution in case you've millions of files. And it will take care of error you're getting.

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(Optional Step): DRY RUN. To check what will be deleted without deleting. `

rsync -avhn --delete --include '*.pdf' empty_dir/ /path/to/dir_with_pdf_files/

. . .

Click rsync tips and tricks for more rsync hacks