Is there a command to get the maximum folder depth of entire system?
Short version: Is there a command and/or set of commands and/or utility to know what is the maximum depth of folders on my filesystem ?
Long version: I'm on Mac OS X. I'd like to know what is the deepest folder there is on my system (I don't care for access rights). This is because I want to launch a command on the root / and it will be recursive and I don't want it to hang (unexpected results). So I need to know how many levels of folders there are between / and the deepest folder.
I searched on Google and forums but couldn't find anything conclusive. I read that the HFS+ filesystem I'm using has no limit in depth, but maybe there is a limit in path name length ?
EDIT: Someone tried by filling up the fs but it's a dirty solution... I'd like a "cleaner" one if possible. Actually, finding the maximum depth on my actual system would be enough without testing out the limits.
Thanks for your help !
macos command-line
asked Nov 30 '13 at 17:15
achedeuzotachedeuzot
1157
add a comment |
Short version: Is there a command and/or set of commands and/or utility to know what is the maximum depth of folders on my filesystem ?
Long version: I'm on Mac OS X. I'd like to know what is the deepest folder there is on my system (I don't care for access rights). This is because I want to launch a command on the root / and it will be recursive and I don't want it to hang (unexpected results). So I need to know how many levels of folders there are between / and the deepest folder.
I searched on Google and forums but couldn't find anything conclusive. I read that the HFS+ filesystem I'm using has no limit in depth, but maybe there is a limit in path name length ?
EDIT: Someone tried by filling up the fs but it's a dirty solution... I'd like a "cleaner" one if possible. Actually, finding the maximum depth on my actual system would be enough without testing out the limits.
Thanks for your help !
macos command-line
asked Nov 30 '13 at 17:15
achedeuzotachedeuzot
1157
Note that the linked post determines the deepest possible path. You seem to be asking for the longest actually existing path.
– Daniel Beck♦
Nov 30 '13 at 19:48
Yes, I'm asking for the longest actually existing path. That link was the only thing I found on Google that was approximately what I was searching.
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:04
add a comment |
Short version: Is there a command and/or set of commands and/or utility to know what is the maximum depth of folders on my filesystem ?
Long version: I'm on Mac OS X. I'd like to know what is the deepest folder there is on my system (I don't care for access rights). This is because I want to launch a command on the root / and it will be recursive and I don't want it to hang (unexpected results). So I need to know how many levels of folders there are between / and the deepest folder.
I searched on Google and forums but couldn't find anything conclusive. I read that the HFS+ filesystem I'm using has no limit in depth, but maybe there is a limit in path name length ?
EDIT: Someone tried by filling up the fs but it's a dirty solution... I'd like a "cleaner" one if possible. Actually, finding the maximum depth on my actual system would be enough without testing out the limits.
Thanks for your help !
macos command-line
asked Nov 30 '13 at 17:15
achedeuzotachedeuzot
1157
Short version: Is there a command and/or set of commands and/or utility to know what is the maximum depth of folders on my filesystem ?
Long version: I'm on Mac OS X. I'd like to know what is the deepest folder there is on my system (I don't care for access rights). This is because I want to launch a command on the root / and it will be recursive and I don't want it to hang (unexpected results). So I need to know how many levels of folders there are between / and the deepest folder.
I searched on Google and forums but couldn't find anything conclusive. I read that the HFS+ filesystem I'm using has no limit in depth, but maybe there is a limit in path name length ?
EDIT: Someone tried by filling up the fs but it's a dirty solution... I'd like a "cleaner" one if possible. Actually, finding the maximum depth on my actual system would be enough without testing out the limits.
Thanks for your help !
macos command-line
macos command-line
asked Nov 30 '13 at 17:15
achedeuzotachedeuzot
1157
asked Nov 30 '13 at 17:15
achedeuzotachedeuzot
1157
asked Nov 30 '13 at 17:15
achedeuzotachedeuzot
1157
asked Nov 30 '13 at 17:15
achedeuzotachedeuzot
1157
asked Nov 30 '13 at 17:15
achedeuzotachedeuzot
1157
1157
Note that the linked post determines the deepest possible path. You seem to be asking for the longest actually existing path.
– Daniel Beck♦
Nov 30 '13 at 19:48
Yes, I'm asking for the longest actually existing path. That link was the only thing I found on Google that was approximately what I was searching.
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:04
add a comment |
Note that the linked post determines the deepest possible path. You seem to be asking for the longest actually existing path.
– Daniel Beck♦
Nov 30 '13 at 19:48
Yes, I'm asking for the longest actually existing path. That link was the only thing I found on Google that was approximately what I was searching.
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:04
Note that the linked post determines the deepest possible path. You seem to be asking for the longest actually existing path.
– Daniel Beck♦
Nov 30 '13 at 19:48
Note that the linked post determines the deepest possible path. You seem to be asking for the longest actually existing path.
– Daniel Beck♦
Nov 30 '13 at 19:48
Yes, I'm asking for the longest actually existing path. That link was the only thing I found on Google that was approximately what I was searching.
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:04
Yes, I'm asking for the longest actually existing path. That link was the only thing I found on Google that was approximately what I was searching.
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:04
add a comment |
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
The following traverses your entire file system looking for directories only, removes everything that's not a forward slash (path item delimiter), and prints the longest trail (at least on my system, sort behavior may depend on locale).
find / -type d | sed 's|[^/]||g' | sort | tail -n1
Count the resulting slashes, which is one for every directory except root, so if the deepest directory path were /Users/danielbeck, the result would be //. Of course, there could be files in that directory.
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:43
Daniel Beck♦Daniel Beck
92.5k12232286
yeah. that's better. :-)
– Sirex
Nov 30 '13 at 19:45
Great, I got//////////////////////////if anyone is interested (that's 26 folders deep).
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:01
add a comment |
Based on Daniel Beck's answer but for those who like counting machines
find / -type d | sed 's|[^/]||g' | sort | tail -n1 | egrep -i -o / | wc -l
If the deepest directory path were /Users/danielbeck, the result would be 2
answered Jan 14 at 9:57
Jack.LJack.L
112
add a comment |
easiest way ?
mkdir /a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a
your deepest dir is now that.
less easy way ? Probably something like:
for i in `find .`; do echo $i | tr -d -c '/n' | wc -m >> /tmp/counts; done; sort -nr /tmp/counts | head -n 1
i.e: show all file paths, rips out anything that isn't /. Count how many there were, then show the highest number.
something like that - feel free to improve it, pretty sure the /tmp file can be avoided using an in-memory file of some sort.
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:32
SirexSirex
9,72843252
When I tried it, it somehow stopped after some time and went unresponsive... Thanks for the idea !
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:02
This will break if any path contains a space in its name. Don't parse the output offindorls: mywiki.wooledge.org/ParsingLs
– slhck
Nov 30 '13 at 20:22
Yeah, it sucks. I know. Personally I'd just do the mkdir and move onto the next problem.
– Sirex
Dec 1 '13 at 4:47
add a comment |
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3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
The following traverses your entire file system looking for directories only, removes everything that's not a forward slash (path item delimiter), and prints the longest trail (at least on my system, sort behavior may depend on locale).
find / -type d | sed 's|[^/]||g' | sort | tail -n1
Count the resulting slashes, which is one for every directory except root, so if the deepest directory path were /Users/danielbeck, the result would be //. Of course, there could be files in that directory.
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:43
Daniel Beck♦Daniel Beck
92.5k12232286
yeah. that's better. :-)
– Sirex
Nov 30 '13 at 19:45
Great, I got//////////////////////////if anyone is interested (that's 26 folders deep).
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:01
add a comment |
The following traverses your entire file system looking for directories only, removes everything that's not a forward slash (path item delimiter), and prints the longest trail (at least on my system, sort behavior may depend on locale).
find / -type d | sed 's|[^/]||g' | sort | tail -n1
Count the resulting slashes, which is one for every directory except root, so if the deepest directory path were /Users/danielbeck, the result would be //. Of course, there could be files in that directory.
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:43
Daniel Beck♦Daniel Beck
92.5k12232286
yeah. that's better. :-)
– Sirex
Nov 30 '13 at 19:45
Great, I got//////////////////////////if anyone is interested (that's 26 folders deep).
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:01
add a comment |
The following traverses your entire file system looking for directories only, removes everything that's not a forward slash (path item delimiter), and prints the longest trail (at least on my system, sort behavior may depend on locale).
find / -type d | sed 's|[^/]||g' | sort | tail -n1
Count the resulting slashes, which is one for every directory except root, so if the deepest directory path were /Users/danielbeck, the result would be //. Of course, there could be files in that directory.
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:43
Daniel Beck♦Daniel Beck
92.5k12232286
The following traverses your entire file system looking for directories only, removes everything that's not a forward slash (path item delimiter), and prints the longest trail (at least on my system, sort behavior may depend on locale).
find / -type d | sed 's|[^/]||g' | sort | tail -n1
Count the resulting slashes, which is one for every directory except root, so if the deepest directory path were /Users/danielbeck, the result would be //. Of course, there could be files in that directory.
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:43
Daniel Beck♦Daniel Beck
92.5k12232286
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:43
Daniel Beck♦Daniel Beck
92.5k12232286
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:43
Daniel Beck♦Daniel Beck
92.5k12232286
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:43
Daniel Beck♦Daniel Beck
92.5k12232286
92.5k12232286
yeah. that's better. :-)
– Sirex
Nov 30 '13 at 19:45
Great, I got//////////////////////////if anyone is interested (that's 26 folders deep).
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:01
add a comment |
yeah. that's better. :-)
– Sirex
Nov 30 '13 at 19:45
Great, I got//////////////////////////if anyone is interested (that's 26 folders deep).
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:01
yeah. that's better. :-)
– Sirex
Nov 30 '13 at 19:45
yeah. that's better. :-)
– Sirex
Nov 30 '13 at 19:45
Great, I got
////////////////////////// if anyone is interested (that's 26 folders deep).– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:01
Great, I got
////////////////////////// if anyone is interested (that's 26 folders deep).– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:01
add a comment |
Based on Daniel Beck's answer but for those who like counting machines
find / -type d | sed 's|[^/]||g' | sort | tail -n1 | egrep -i -o / | wc -l
If the deepest directory path were /Users/danielbeck, the result would be 2
answered Jan 14 at 9:57
Jack.LJack.L
112
add a comment |
Based on Daniel Beck's answer but for those who like counting machines
find / -type d | sed 's|[^/]||g' | sort | tail -n1 | egrep -i -o / | wc -l
If the deepest directory path were /Users/danielbeck, the result would be 2
answered Jan 14 at 9:57
Jack.LJack.L
112
add a comment |
Based on Daniel Beck's answer but for those who like counting machines
find / -type d | sed 's|[^/]||g' | sort | tail -n1 | egrep -i -o / | wc -l
If the deepest directory path were /Users/danielbeck, the result would be 2
answered Jan 14 at 9:57
Jack.LJack.L
112
Based on Daniel Beck's answer but for those who like counting machines
find / -type d | sed 's|[^/]||g' | sort | tail -n1 | egrep -i -o / | wc -l
If the deepest directory path were /Users/danielbeck, the result would be 2
answered Jan 14 at 9:57
Jack.LJack.L
112
answered Jan 14 at 9:57
Jack.LJack.L
112
answered Jan 14 at 9:57
Jack.LJack.L
112
answered Jan 14 at 9:57
Jack.LJack.L
112
112
add a comment |
add a comment |
easiest way ?
mkdir /a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a
your deepest dir is now that.
less easy way ? Probably something like:
for i in `find .`; do echo $i | tr -d -c '/n' | wc -m >> /tmp/counts; done; sort -nr /tmp/counts | head -n 1
i.e: show all file paths, rips out anything that isn't /. Count how many there were, then show the highest number.
something like that - feel free to improve it, pretty sure the /tmp file can be avoided using an in-memory file of some sort.
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:32
SirexSirex
9,72843252
When I tried it, it somehow stopped after some time and went unresponsive... Thanks for the idea !
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:02
This will break if any path contains a space in its name. Don't parse the output offindorls: mywiki.wooledge.org/ParsingLs
– slhck
Nov 30 '13 at 20:22
Yeah, it sucks. I know. Personally I'd just do the mkdir and move onto the next problem.
– Sirex
Dec 1 '13 at 4:47
add a comment |
easiest way ?
mkdir /a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a
your deepest dir is now that.
less easy way ? Probably something like:
for i in `find .`; do echo $i | tr -d -c '/n' | wc -m >> /tmp/counts; done; sort -nr /tmp/counts | head -n 1
i.e: show all file paths, rips out anything that isn't /. Count how many there were, then show the highest number.
something like that - feel free to improve it, pretty sure the /tmp file can be avoided using an in-memory file of some sort.
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:32
SirexSirex
9,72843252
When I tried it, it somehow stopped after some time and went unresponsive... Thanks for the idea !
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:02
This will break if any path contains a space in its name. Don't parse the output offindorls: mywiki.wooledge.org/ParsingLs
– slhck
Nov 30 '13 at 20:22
Yeah, it sucks. I know. Personally I'd just do the mkdir and move onto the next problem.
– Sirex
Dec 1 '13 at 4:47
add a comment |
easiest way ?
mkdir /a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a
your deepest dir is now that.
less easy way ? Probably something like:
for i in `find .`; do echo $i | tr -d -c '/n' | wc -m >> /tmp/counts; done; sort -nr /tmp/counts | head -n 1
i.e: show all file paths, rips out anything that isn't /. Count how many there were, then show the highest number.
something like that - feel free to improve it, pretty sure the /tmp file can be avoided using an in-memory file of some sort.
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:32
SirexSirex
9,72843252
easiest way ?
mkdir /a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a/a
your deepest dir is now that.
less easy way ? Probably something like:
for i in `find .`; do echo $i | tr -d -c '/n' | wc -m >> /tmp/counts; done; sort -nr /tmp/counts | head -n 1
i.e: show all file paths, rips out anything that isn't /. Count how many there were, then show the highest number.
something like that - feel free to improve it, pretty sure the /tmp file can be avoided using an in-memory file of some sort.
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:32
SirexSirex
9,72843252
edited Nov 30 '13 at 19:38
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:32
SirexSirex
9,72843252
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:32
SirexSirex
9,72843252
answered Nov 30 '13 at 19:32
SirexSirex
9,72843252
9,72843252
When I tried it, it somehow stopped after some time and went unresponsive... Thanks for the idea !
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:02
This will break if any path contains a space in its name. Don't parse the output offindorls: mywiki.wooledge.org/ParsingLs
– slhck
Nov 30 '13 at 20:22
Yeah, it sucks. I know. Personally I'd just do the mkdir and move onto the next problem.
– Sirex
Dec 1 '13 at 4:47
add a comment |
When I tried it, it somehow stopped after some time and went unresponsive... Thanks for the idea !
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:02
This will break if any path contains a space in its name. Don't parse the output offindorls: mywiki.wooledge.org/ParsingLs
– slhck
Nov 30 '13 at 20:22
Yeah, it sucks. I know. Personally I'd just do the mkdir and move onto the next problem.
– Sirex
Dec 1 '13 at 4:47
When I tried it, it somehow stopped after some time and went unresponsive... Thanks for the idea !
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:02
When I tried it, it somehow stopped after some time and went unresponsive... Thanks for the idea !
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:02
This will break if any path contains a space in its name. Don't parse the output of
find or ls: mywiki.wooledge.org/ParsingLs– slhck
Nov 30 '13 at 20:22
This will break if any path contains a space in its name. Don't parse the output of
find or ls: mywiki.wooledge.org/ParsingLs– slhck
Nov 30 '13 at 20:22
Yeah, it sucks. I know. Personally I'd just do the mkdir and move onto the next problem.
– Sirex
Dec 1 '13 at 4:47
Yeah, it sucks. I know. Personally I'd just do the mkdir and move onto the next problem.
– Sirex
Dec 1 '13 at 4:47
add a comment |
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Note that the linked post determines the deepest possible path. You seem to be asking for the longest actually existing path.
– Daniel Beck♦
Nov 30 '13 at 19:48
Yes, I'm asking for the longest actually existing path. That link was the only thing I found on Google that was approximately what I was searching.
– achedeuzot
Nov 30 '13 at 20:04