[SOLVED] How to copy directory and file structure with zero length files

dchurch315 · 05-19-2012, 12:52 AM

I've been trying to solve a problem in Linux that is beyond my skill set. Basically I need to copy an entire folder and file structure but have all the files reduced to zero length and keeping the same filename. Rsync and cp seem to be missing the feature, but I'm thinking a Bash script could do the the trick if I can get the recursion right.

Anybody tackled this before? For reference, the equivalent command in Windows is ROBOCOPY (source) (dest) /E /CREATE

cbtshare · 05-19-2012, 01:20 AM

just use the exclude command with rsync.

Quote:

rsync will copy files from one directory to another directory on the same machine like robocopy. Here is the rsync command that is equivalent to your robocopy command:

rsync -auv --exclude 'file' --exclude '*.file extension' source destination

or try this script:

http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/

dchurch315 · 05-19-2012, 01:34 AM

Just to clarify - I need to copy all the folders AND files, but have the files reduced to zero length to save space. The files may have hundreds of different extensions, so a command specifying each extension isn't practical.

allend · 05-19-2012, 02:26 AM

Have you tried 'cp -r --attributes-only <source directory> <destination directory>' ?

dchurch315 · 05-19-2012, 01:38 PM

The Ubuntu/Debian CP command doesn't support the --attributes-only parameter - is that only in newer versions past 11.04?

allend · 05-19-2012, 02:02 PM

The --attributes-only option was added in coreutils-8.6
From http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/co.../msg00079.html

Quote:

** New features

cp now accepts the --attributes-only option to not copy file data,
which is useful for efficiently modifying files.

dchurch315 · 05-19-2012, 02:11 PM

Thanks - upgrading the package now.

itsdezman · 07-25-2016, 08:41 PM

I'm in over my head here. I'm trying to replicate the Windows Robocopy feature of /CREATE that copies an entire directory with zero length files. I tried updating CP to 8.6 but no success on my Mac. Any help would be appreciated...