In tar how can I exclude dir contents but leave empty dir

Question

I want to create a tar file excluding certains folders who have many sub-folders and files, but leaving only the main folders that's being excluded. Explaining:

-project
  |-dir1
  |-dir2
  |-cache
  |-logs
  |-dir3
  --dir4

I want my tar to exclude cache and logs content (files and folders) but mantain this empty folders in the tar file.

if I use --exclude=project/cache it excludes the folders from the file. How Can I do this ?

well I really though I tried that. It worked. Thanks. If you want, put it as an answer so I can accept and you gain credit for it. — Nelson Teixeira, Aug 07 '14 at 13:18
This will not exclude dot files inside the cache folder, I believe. — cusco, Oct 27 '17 at 18:22

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 07 '14 at 13:26

5

You can exclude the files in the directories in question without excluding the directories themselves with --exclude=project/cache/*.

Be mindful that if there are dotfiles in those directories, they will still get picked up in the tar; if that's the case, you may need to work on a more sophisticated regexp.

answered Aug 07 '14 at 13:26

MadHatter

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+1 for mentioning about hidden files (dotfiles). – Gaurav Kansal May 31 '19 at 14:05

Clark Updike · Answer 2 · 2022-07-11T19:11:26.333

1

Minor improvement to @MadHatter's answer to also prevent dotfiles:

--exclude=project/cache/{*,.*}

edited Jul 11 '22 at 19:11

answered Jul 11 '22 at 19:11

Clark Updike

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In tar how can I exclude dir contents but leave empty dir

2 Answers2