Clean ~/Downloads and ~/Pictures/Screenshots on Linux - remove old files and empty directories

clean-transient-folders

#!/bin/bash
#
# Written by Senko Rasic <[email protected]> and released unto Public Domain.
#
# Save this to ~/.local/bin/clean-transient-folders. Then add it to
# your user crontab with a rule like this:
#
#     # Run this every day at 5am
#     0 5 * * * /home/<user>/.local/bin/clean-transient-folders
#
# Alternatively, set up a systemd timer:
#
# First, create a service unit file called
#  ~/.config/systemd/user/clean-transient-folders.service that looks
# like this:
#
#    [Unit]
#    Description=Clean Transient Folders
#
#    [Service]
#    ExecStart=%h/.local/bin/clean-transient-folders
#
# Then, create a timer file called
# ~/.config/systemd/user/clean-transient-folders.timer that looks
# like this:
#
#    [Unit]
#    Description=Clean Transient Folders Timer
#
#    [Timer]
#    OnCalendar=hourly
#    Unit=clean-transient-folders.service
#
#    [Install]
#    WantedBy=default.target
#
# (Adjust paths and timer intervals as needed)

# Stop immediately if there are any errors
set -e

# Directories to clean up, space-separated
DIRS="$HOME/Downloads $HOME/Pictures/Screenshots"

# Files older than 6 days will be removed
TTL=6

for DIR in $DIRS; do
    # This is used to prevent the directory from being completely
    # empty and thus appearing in the empty directories list later.
    touch "$DIR/.last-clean"

    # Find and remove files older than 6 days
    find "$DIR" -type f -mtime "+${TTL}" -delete

    # Find and remove empty directories
    find "$DIR" -type d -empty -delete
done

Updated so it can work on multiple directories (see $DIRS).