Summarize Cache File Ages

A cache tree is using many inodes and you need to see file age distribution before deciding on a retention threshold.

Command

find /lab/disk-inode-cleanup/var/cache/app -xdev -type f -printf '%TY-%Tm-%Td\n' | sort | uniq -c

Before you run this

System impact: Read-only. Can create load on large logs, directories, filesystems, or process tables.

When not to use it: Do not use file age alone for application-owned caches that have their own invalidation or lock semantics.

Counts of cache files grouped by date.

Read-only, can be slow. Nothing changes. The command groups cache files by modification date.

May require elevated permissions on protected paths or service-owned files.

Scope this to the smallest useful path or service on busy systems.

Recovery / rollback: no state is changed.

Use before age-based cache cleanup so the cutoff is based on the actual file population.

Do not use file age alone for application-owned caches that have their own invalidation or lock semantics.

Explanation-only example

This example is intentionally illustrative. It shows the command shape without killing real processes or changing your machine.

demo@lab:~$

$ find /work/disk-inode-cleanup/var/cache/app -xdev -type f -printf '%TY-%Tm-%Td\n' | sort | uniq -c

    160 2026-06-26

$ find /work/disk-inode-cleanup/var/cache/app -xdev -type f -printf '%h\n' | sort | uniq -c | sort -nr

    120 /work/disk-inode-cleanup/var/cache/app/shards/a
     40 /work/disk-inode-cleanup/var/cache/app/shards/b

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