updatedb(8) System Manager's Manual updatedb(8)
NAME
updatedb - update a database for plocate
SYNOPSIS
updatedb [OPTION]...
DESCRIPTION
updatedb creates or updates a database used by locate(1). If the data-
base already exists, its data is reused to avoid rereading directories
that have not changed.
updatedb is usually run daily from a systemd.timer(8) to update the de-
fault database.
EXIT STATUS
updatedb returns with exit status 0 on success, 1 on error.
OPTIONS
The PRUNE_BIND_MOUNTS, PRUNEFS, PRUNENAMES and PRUNEPATHS variables,
which are modified by some of the options, are documented in detail in
updatedb.conf(5).
-f, --add-prunefs FS
Add entries in white-space-separated list FS to PRUNEFS.
-n, --add-prunenames NAMES
Add entries in white-space-separated list NAMES to PRUNENAMES.
-e, --add-prunepaths PATHS
Add entries in white-space-separated list PATHS to PRUNEPATHS.
-e, --add-single-prunepath PATH
Add PATH to PRUNEPATHS. Note that this is currently the only way
to add a path with a space in it.
-U, --database-root PATH
Store only results of scanning the file system subtree rooted at
PATH to the generated database. The whole file system is
scanned by default.
locate(1) outputs entries as absolute path names which don't
contain symbolic links, regardless of the form of PATH.
--debug-pruning
Write debugging information about pruning decisions to standard
error output.
-h, --help
Write a summary of the available options to standard output and
exit successfully.
-o, --output FILE
Write the database to FILE instead of using the default data-
base.
--prune-bind-mounts FLAG
Set PRUNE_BIND_MOUNTS to FLAG, overriding the configuration
file.
--prunefs FS
Set PRUNEFS to FS, overriding the configuration file.
--prunenames NAMES
Set PRUNENAMES to NAMES, overriding the configuration file.
--prunepaths PATHS
Set PRUNEPATHS to PATHS, overriding the configuration file.
-l, --require-visibility FLAG
Set the “require file visibility before reporting it” flag in
the generated database to FLAG.
If FLAG is 0 or no, or if the database file is readable by "oth-
ers" or it is not owned by plocate, locate(1) outputs the data-
base entries even if the user running locate(1) could not have
read the directory necessary to find out the file described by
the database entry.
If FLAG is 1 or yes (the default), locate(1) checks the permis-
sions of parent directories of each entry before reporting it to
the invoking user. To make the file existence truly hidden from
other users, the database group is set to plocate and the data-
base permissions prohibit reading the database by users using
other means than locate(1), which is set-gid plocate.
Note that the visibility flag is checked only if the database is
owned by plocate and it is not readable by "others".
-v, --verbose
Output path names of files to standard output, as soon as they
are found.
-V, --version
Write information about the version and license of locate on
standard output and exit successfully.
EXAMPLES
To create a private plocate database as a user other than root, run
updatedb -l 0 -o db_file -U source_directory
Note that all users that can read db_file can get the complete list of
files in the subtree of source_directory.
FILES
/etc/updatedb.conf
A configuration file. See updatedb.conf(5). Uses exactly the
same format as the one used by mlocate(1)'s updatedb, so they
can be shared.
/var/lib/plocate/plocate.db
The database updated by default.
SECURITY
Databases built with --require-visibility no allow users to find names
of files and directories of other users, which they would not otherwise
be able to do.
AUTHOR
Miloslav Trmac <mitr@redhat.com>
Steinar H. Gunderson <steinar+plocate@gunderson.no>
SEE ALSO
locate(1), updatedb.conf(5)
plocate Dec 2020 updatedb(8)
Generated by dwww version 1.15 on Fri Jun 28 07:22:24 CEST 2024.