How to list non-system files












0















I want to list all non-system files in Ubuntu to check if there anything important in the system before I reinstall it.
By non-system file, I mean all files that are not created by the operating system itself or other package that comes with the operating system.










share|improve this question























  • touch afile still creates by OS, that's just you are telling her. you may can find files that are owned by a specific user with sudo find / -type f -user USERNAME

    – αғsнιη
    yesterday













  • This can't be used too find files that are created by root.I am looking forward something like "list all files except basic system files"

    – TheBlueKingLP
    yesterday











  • Problem: Your definition of "non-system file" is not standard. A Debian/Ubuntu install is made up of thousands of packages, and there is no definition of "system" and "non-system". Also, I'm not sure what you consider "important". Me, I keep my data and customizations in standard locations so I can find and maintain it.

    – user535733
    yesterday











  • There's no distinction between os created files and user created files. Files in specific locations such as /etc/, /usr, and /dev can be considered system-critical, however with exception of /dev, most of the things are regular files. Named pipes and sockets can be ignored, as they're communication files, and not regular files per se

    – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
    yesterday











  • You can list all the files on the system. For packages installed via dpkg, you can get a list of all the files in each package, and eliminate them from the first list. For configuration changes, programs installed from source, etc, you are out of luck, unless you're willing to search old log files, and even then you can't be sure. Read /etc/passwd to see which users are on the system.

    – waltinator
    yesterday
















0















I want to list all non-system files in Ubuntu to check if there anything important in the system before I reinstall it.
By non-system file, I mean all files that are not created by the operating system itself or other package that comes with the operating system.










share|improve this question























  • touch afile still creates by OS, that's just you are telling her. you may can find files that are owned by a specific user with sudo find / -type f -user USERNAME

    – αғsнιη
    yesterday













  • This can't be used too find files that are created by root.I am looking forward something like "list all files except basic system files"

    – TheBlueKingLP
    yesterday











  • Problem: Your definition of "non-system file" is not standard. A Debian/Ubuntu install is made up of thousands of packages, and there is no definition of "system" and "non-system". Also, I'm not sure what you consider "important". Me, I keep my data and customizations in standard locations so I can find and maintain it.

    – user535733
    yesterday











  • There's no distinction between os created files and user created files. Files in specific locations such as /etc/, /usr, and /dev can be considered system-critical, however with exception of /dev, most of the things are regular files. Named pipes and sockets can be ignored, as they're communication files, and not regular files per se

    – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
    yesterday











  • You can list all the files on the system. For packages installed via dpkg, you can get a list of all the files in each package, and eliminate them from the first list. For configuration changes, programs installed from source, etc, you are out of luck, unless you're willing to search old log files, and even then you can't be sure. Read /etc/passwd to see which users are on the system.

    – waltinator
    yesterday














0












0








0


0






I want to list all non-system files in Ubuntu to check if there anything important in the system before I reinstall it.
By non-system file, I mean all files that are not created by the operating system itself or other package that comes with the operating system.










share|improve this question














I want to list all non-system files in Ubuntu to check if there anything important in the system before I reinstall it.
By non-system file, I mean all files that are not created by the operating system itself or other package that comes with the operating system.







files filesystem






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked yesterday









TheBlueKingLPTheBlueKingLP

12




12













  • touch afile still creates by OS, that's just you are telling her. you may can find files that are owned by a specific user with sudo find / -type f -user USERNAME

    – αғsнιη
    yesterday













  • This can't be used too find files that are created by root.I am looking forward something like "list all files except basic system files"

    – TheBlueKingLP
    yesterday











  • Problem: Your definition of "non-system file" is not standard. A Debian/Ubuntu install is made up of thousands of packages, and there is no definition of "system" and "non-system". Also, I'm not sure what you consider "important". Me, I keep my data and customizations in standard locations so I can find and maintain it.

    – user535733
    yesterday











  • There's no distinction between os created files and user created files. Files in specific locations such as /etc/, /usr, and /dev can be considered system-critical, however with exception of /dev, most of the things are regular files. Named pipes and sockets can be ignored, as they're communication files, and not regular files per se

    – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
    yesterday











  • You can list all the files on the system. For packages installed via dpkg, you can get a list of all the files in each package, and eliminate them from the first list. For configuration changes, programs installed from source, etc, you are out of luck, unless you're willing to search old log files, and even then you can't be sure. Read /etc/passwd to see which users are on the system.

    – waltinator
    yesterday



















  • touch afile still creates by OS, that's just you are telling her. you may can find files that are owned by a specific user with sudo find / -type f -user USERNAME

    – αғsнιη
    yesterday













  • This can't be used too find files that are created by root.I am looking forward something like "list all files except basic system files"

    – TheBlueKingLP
    yesterday











  • Problem: Your definition of "non-system file" is not standard. A Debian/Ubuntu install is made up of thousands of packages, and there is no definition of "system" and "non-system". Also, I'm not sure what you consider "important". Me, I keep my data and customizations in standard locations so I can find and maintain it.

    – user535733
    yesterday











  • There's no distinction between os created files and user created files. Files in specific locations such as /etc/, /usr, and /dev can be considered system-critical, however with exception of /dev, most of the things are regular files. Named pipes and sockets can be ignored, as they're communication files, and not regular files per se

    – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
    yesterday











  • You can list all the files on the system. For packages installed via dpkg, you can get a list of all the files in each package, and eliminate them from the first list. For configuration changes, programs installed from source, etc, you are out of luck, unless you're willing to search old log files, and even then you can't be sure. Read /etc/passwd to see which users are on the system.

    – waltinator
    yesterday

















touch afile still creates by OS, that's just you are telling her. you may can find files that are owned by a specific user with sudo find / -type f -user USERNAME

– αғsнιη
yesterday







touch afile still creates by OS, that's just you are telling her. you may can find files that are owned by a specific user with sudo find / -type f -user USERNAME

– αғsнιη
yesterday















This can't be used too find files that are created by root.I am looking forward something like "list all files except basic system files"

– TheBlueKingLP
yesterday





This can't be used too find files that are created by root.I am looking forward something like "list all files except basic system files"

– TheBlueKingLP
yesterday













Problem: Your definition of "non-system file" is not standard. A Debian/Ubuntu install is made up of thousands of packages, and there is no definition of "system" and "non-system". Also, I'm not sure what you consider "important". Me, I keep my data and customizations in standard locations so I can find and maintain it.

– user535733
yesterday





Problem: Your definition of "non-system file" is not standard. A Debian/Ubuntu install is made up of thousands of packages, and there is no definition of "system" and "non-system". Also, I'm not sure what you consider "important". Me, I keep my data and customizations in standard locations so I can find and maintain it.

– user535733
yesterday













There's no distinction between os created files and user created files. Files in specific locations such as /etc/, /usr, and /dev can be considered system-critical, however with exception of /dev, most of the things are regular files. Named pipes and sockets can be ignored, as they're communication files, and not regular files per se

– Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
yesterday





There's no distinction between os created files and user created files. Files in specific locations such as /etc/, /usr, and /dev can be considered system-critical, however with exception of /dev, most of the things are regular files. Named pipes and sockets can be ignored, as they're communication files, and not regular files per se

– Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
yesterday













You can list all the files on the system. For packages installed via dpkg, you can get a list of all the files in each package, and eliminate them from the first list. For configuration changes, programs installed from source, etc, you are out of luck, unless you're willing to search old log files, and even then you can't be sure. Read /etc/passwd to see which users are on the system.

– waltinator
yesterday





You can list all the files on the system. For packages installed via dpkg, you can get a list of all the files in each package, and eliminate them from the first list. For configuration changes, programs installed from source, etc, you are out of luck, unless you're willing to search old log files, and even then you can't be sure. Read /etc/passwd to see which users are on the system.

– waltinator
yesterday










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