[SOLVED] How can I have zip -d file.zip "__MACOSX*" work on all zip files in directory?

thomwblair · 10-08-2018, 02:04 AM

I have a lot of zip files that contain __MACOSX files and I read that

Code:

zip -d file.zip "__MACOSX*"

will delete those files from file.zip.

However, that syntax will only work on one file (file.zip) at a time. I'd like instead to have the command work on all zip files in that directory. I tried

Code:

zip -d “*.zip” "__MACOSX*"

but that only gave me an error. I also tried

Code:

zip -d *.zip "__MACOSX*"

but that only deletes the files from the first zip file in the directory.

What syntax would make it delete all the unwanted files from all zip files in the directory?

Thanks in advance!

RandomTroll · 10-08-2018, 08:49 AM

Code:

for file in *.zip
do
zip -d $file "__MACOSX*"
done

l0f4r0 · 10-08-2018, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomTroll

Code:

for file in *.zip
do
zip -d $file "__MACOSX*"
done

"$file" is safer (in case of any risky character in the filename after substitution for example)

thomwblair · 10-08-2018, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomTroll

Code:

for file in *.zip
do
zip -d $file "__MACOSX*"
done

First, as a newbie, I'd like to thank you very much RandomTroll for trying to help me. I really appreciate the help.

Unfortunately though, it didn't work. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding what you're saying to do. I typed

Code:

zip -d $file "__MACOSX*"

while in my directory that has all the zip files that have all the __MACOSX files in them, but I got this error:

Code:

zip warning: __MACOSX*.zip not found or empty
zip error: Nothing to do! (__MACOSX*.zip)

So, either I misunderstood what you were telling me to do, or perhaps I was not clear enough in describing what I need to do. If I misunderstood, can you please clarify?

If I was not clear enough, here is a clearer description: I have a directory called CleanZip and in that directory are 4 zip files that I am using as test files:

Code:

[B-18] Minions.zip		
[B-18] Small power cell.zip
[B-18] Small Comms Console.zip	
[B-18] Sun Lights.zip

In reality, though, I have over a dozen more zip files just like these, with names like these, that I'd like to process. Each zip file contains many files that start with __MACOSX. Here are some examples:

Code:

        0  08-27-2018 23:00   __MACOSX/
        0  08-27-2018 23:00   __MACOSX/Sun Lights/
      120  08-27-2018 20:21   __MACOSX/Sun Lights/._.DS_Store

So, I'm wanting to delete all the __MACOSX files from all four zip files with one command. What would be the exact syntax to do that?

l0f4r0 · 10-08-2018, 09:24 AM

In CleanZip directory, did you type:

Code:

for file in *.zip
do
zip -d "$file" "__MACOSX*"
done

as RandomTroll explained?
...because you seem to have only entered the following:

Code:

zip -d $file "__MACOSX*"

EDIT:
try instead:

Code:

for file in *.zip
do
zip -d "$file" "__MACOSX\*"
done

It's safer to prevent * bash pre-expansion in order to let zip do it by itself

thomwblair · 10-08-2018, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by l0f4r0

"$file" is safer (in case of any risky character in the filename after substitution for example)

Hi! Thank you for your reply! I tried:

Code:

zip -d "$file" "__MACOSX*"

but I got this error:

Code:

zip warning: .zip not found or empty
zip warning: name not matched: __MACOSX*
zip error: Nothing to do! (.zip)

I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding what to do, or if I didn't describe my problem clearly enough. If I wasn't clear enough, I posted more details above in my reply to RandomTroll.

Thank you for your help though, I really appreciate it!

l0f4r0 · 10-08-2018, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomwblair

I tried...

See post #5 please

thomwblair · 10-08-2018, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by l0f4r0

In CleanZip directory, did you type:

Code:

for file in *.zip
do
zip -d "$file" "__MACOSX*"
done

as RandomTroll explained?
...because you seem to have only entered the following:

Code:

zip -d $file "__MACOSX*"

Omg! I thought RamdomTroll was mistakenly enclosing the entire reply in CODE tags! I'm too new to realize that whole thing was proper syntax. Thank you! When I used all four lines of commands, it did work. Thank you!

Quote:

EDIT:
try instead:

Code:

for file in *.zip
do
zip -d "$file" "__MACOSX\*"
done

It's safer to prevent * bash pre-expansion in order to let zip do it by itself

Thank you! I will try that too. Thanks again!

l0f4r0 · 10-08-2018, 09:40 AM

You're welcome but all credit goes to RandomTroll

Can you mark your thread as "solved"?

thomwblair · 10-08-2018, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by l0f4r0

You're welcome but all credit goes to RandomTroll

Can you mark your thread as "solved"?

Thank you, I just discovered I can do that.

Habitual · 10-08-2018, 02:30 PM

Can be fixed after the fact by

Code:

zip -d filename.zip __MACOSX/\*

says https://superuser.com/questions/1045...-macosx-folder