How to Automate a job to move the latest file with a sequential file name

IranianIrishman

11/6/22, 9:03 AM

I have files in a directory all part of a sequential naming structure. I want to automate a job where I can find the latest file in this sequence and copy it over to another directory.

E.g. in /tmp/directory23 there are file names:

CEN_01 [Modified date 31/05/2021]
CEN_02 [Modified date 07/06/2021]
CEN_03 [Modified date 14/06/2021]
CEN_04 [Modified date 21/06/2021]
CEN_05 [Modified date 28/06/2021]
CEN_06 [Modified date 05/07/2021]

I want to automate a job, where I find the latest modified file CEN_06 and copy the file to a different directory.

Can anyone help me please?

142

1 + 1

command-line

bash

FedKad

11/6/22, 9:17 AM

Look at `man ls`. The command sequence `last_file=$(ls -t | head -n1)` will assign the file name you need into a shell variable.

Score:1

Ubuntu

Malo Maisonneuve

11/6/22, 9:21 AM

There's two parts in your question, so I'll adress them separately. I also don't know how confortable your are with Linux, so please tell me if these guidelines are too blurry.

find the latest modified file CEN_06 and copy the file to a different directory : you should be able to do that using the output of ls -lt, and then grabbing the first result. After some search, the following seems to be working : ls -t | head -n1 (edit: thanks to @FedonKadifeli for this command). To copy a file, the cp command is what you are looking for.
I want to automate a job : one way to automate stuff in Linux is to use crontabs. You should be able to do what you want using them. I recommand you read the man on that subject man 5 crontab. You basically put in a .sh file the commands you want to run, and then crontab will automate it for you at given intervals.

0 + 4

FedKad

11/6/22, 9:48 AM

Why are you using this very long command sequence, while a simple `ls -t | head -n1` could easily do the job?

Jos

11/6/22, 10:19 AM

@FedonKadifeli Even better, because Malo's command tends to print an extra space at the start of the file name.

steeldriver

11/6/22, 12:08 PM

... or use `zsh`, where you don't need to rely on fragile parsing of ls output and instead can use a qualified shell glob like `CEN_*(om[1])`

Malo Maisonneuve

11/6/22, 12:16 PM

@FedonKadifeli Thanks! This is a lot better. I'll update my far too long command :)

Elon Musk

I sit in a Tesla and translated this thread with Ai:

EN: How to Automate a job to move the latest file with a sequential file name

TH: วิธีย้ายงานโดยอัตโนมัติเพื่อย้ายไฟล์ล่าสุดด้วยชื่อไฟล์ตามลำดับ

RO: Cum să automatizezi o lucrare pentru a muta cel mai recent fișier cu un nume de fișier secvenţial

RU: Как автоматизировать задание по перемещению последнего файла с последовательным именем файла

VI: Cách tự động hóa công việc để di chuyển tệp mới nhất với tên tệp tuần tự

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