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
    Feb 7 at 17:47













  • 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
    Feb 7 at 18:03











  • 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
    Feb 7 at 18:16











  • 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
    Feb 7 at 19:27











  • 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
    Feb 7 at 22:17
















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
    Feb 7 at 17:47













  • 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
    Feb 7 at 18:03











  • 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
    Feb 7 at 18:16











  • 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
    Feb 7 at 19:27











  • 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
    Feb 7 at 22:17














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 Feb 7 at 17:37









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
    Feb 7 at 17:47













  • 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
    Feb 7 at 18:03











  • 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
    Feb 7 at 18:16











  • 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
    Feb 7 at 19:27











  • 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
    Feb 7 at 22:17



















  • 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
    Feb 7 at 17:47













  • 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
    Feb 7 at 18:03











  • 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
    Feb 7 at 18:16











  • 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
    Feb 7 at 19:27











  • 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
    Feb 7 at 22:17

















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
Feb 7 at 17:47







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
Feb 7 at 17:47















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
Feb 7 at 18:03





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
Feb 7 at 18:03













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
Feb 7 at 18:16





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
Feb 7 at 18:16













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
Feb 7 at 19:27





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
Feb 7 at 19:27













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
Feb 7 at 22:17





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
Feb 7 at 22:17










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