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# Trash management

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To prevent accidental deletion of files, you can use a trash can. To ensure compatibility between multiple applications, you can use software (CLI, GUI or Library) that follows the FreeDesktop.org's Trash specification.

Note Some applications can use a trash can per filesystem. If that’s not the case, deleting files on another filesystem than your `$HOME` can induce some latency because the files will be transferred between filesystems.

## Tools

Most GUI file managers, such as GNOME Files and Dolphin, natively support moving files into the trash and managing its content.

Electron Applications need trash-cli to use the trash.

### Command line

This article or section needs expansion.

Reason: Add other utilities (Discuss in Talk:Trash management)

- glib2 provides a `gio trash` command, see `trash` in gio(1) § COMMANDS. The gvfs package is required to fully support trash management, e.g. `gio trash --list`.
- kde-cli-tools provides a `kioclient` command that can be used as `kioclient move file trash:/` to move `file` to the trash.
- trash-cli — Command line trashcan (recycle bin) interface, used

  https://github.com/andreafrancia/trash-cli || trash-cli

- trash-d — drop-in replacement for GNU rm, focusing on compatibility and with much better performance, written in D.

  https://github.com/rushsteve1/trash-d || trash-dAUR

- trashy — simple, fast, and featureful alternative to rm and trash-cli written in rust

  https://github.com/oberblastmeister/trashy || trashyAUR trashy-binAUR trashy-gitAUR

- gtrash — A featureful trash CLI manager written in Go

  https://github.com/umlx5h/gtrash || gtrash-binAUR

- python-send2trash — Send file to trash natively

  https://github.com/hsoft/send2trash || python-send2trash

- trashman — A Python trash manager

  https://github.com/Kwpolska/trashman || trashmanAUR

- rmtrash — trash-put made compatible to GNUs rm and rmdir

  https://github.com/PhrozenByte/rmtrash || rmtrashAUR

- rmw (ReMove to Waste) — A trashcan/recycle bin utility for the command line.

  https://theimpossibleastronaut.com/rmw-website/ || rmwAUR

## Automatic cleaning

- autotrash — Tool to automatically purge old trashed files

  https://github.com/bneijt/autotrash || autotrashAUR

- Dolphin can automatically remove files older than a give number of days, and warn you or remove older or bigger files if the trash can goes above a size threshold. See official documentation.
- GNOME can automatically remove older files, see official documentation.
- rmw (ReMove to Waste) — A trashcan/recycle bin utility for the command line, that can automatically remove files older than a given number of days, see CONFIGURATION in the manual

  https://theimpossibleastronaut.com/rmw-website/ || rmwAUR

## Troubleshooting

### Unable to find or create trash directory

#### External drives

`/etc/fstab` might not be set correctly. Note that `ID` must be replaced by your own user id by `$ id`.

    /etc/fstab

    # <device>                                <dir>              <type>    <options>         <dump> <fsck>
    UUID=75667752-8b06-11ea-bc55-0242ac130003 /externalDrive     ntfs-3g   defaults,uid=ID   0      1

Make sure that the root directory of the drive contains `~/.Trash-1000/{expunged,files,info}` and set relevant read permissions for the directory and sub-directory.

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