towards unexpected program termination as there are never files on disk that
need to be explicitly deleted.
-3. 🥇 Operate below a sub-directory of `/tmp/` and `/var/tmp/` you created, and
- take a BSD file lock ([`flock(dir_fd,
- LOCK_SH)`](https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man2/flock.2.html)) on that
- sub-directory. This is particularly interesting when operating on more than
- a single file, or on file nodes that are not plain regular files, for
- example when extracting a tarball to a temporary directory. The ageing
- algorithm will skip all directories (and everything below them) that are
- locked through a BSD file lock. As BSD file locks are automatically released
+3. 🥇 Take an exclusive or shared BSD file lock ([`flock()`](
+ https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man2/flock.2.html)) on files and directories
+ you don't want to be removed. This is particularly interesting when operating
+ on more than a single file, or on file nodes that are not plain regular files,
+ for example when extracting a tarball to a temporary directory. The ageing
+ algorithm will skip all directories (and everything below them) and files that
+ are locked through a BSD file lock. As BSD file locks are automatically released
when the file descriptor they are taken on is closed, and all file
descriptors opened by a process are implicitly closed when it exits, this is
a robust mechanism that ensures all temporary files are subject to ageing
modification/access times, as extracted files are otherwise immediately
candidates for deletion by the ageing algorithm. The
[`flock`](https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man1/flock.1.html) tool of the
- `util-linux` packages makes this concept available to shell scripts. Note
- that `systemd-tmpfiles` only checks for BSD file locks on directories, locks
- on other types of file nodes (including regular files) are not considered.
+ `util-linux` packages makes this concept available to shell scripts.
4. Keep the access time of all temporary files created current. In regular
intervals, use `utimensat()` or a related call to update the access time
directories marked with <varname>D</varname> or
<varname>R</varname>, and files or directories themselves
marked with <varname>r</varname> or <varname>R</varname> are
- removed.</para></listitem>
+ removed unless an exclusive or shared BSD lock is taken on them (see <citerefentry
+ project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>flock</refentrytitle><manvolnum>2</manvolnum></citerefentry>).
+ </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
# an hour ago in "/tmp/foo/bar", are subject to time-based cleanup.
d /tmp/foo/bar - - - - bmA:1h -</programlisting></para>
- <para>Note that while the aging algorithm is run a 'shared' BSD file lock (see <citerefentry
+ <para>Note that while the aging algorithm is run an exclusive BSD file lock (see <citerefentry
project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>flock</refentrytitle><manvolnum>2</manvolnum></citerefentry>) is
- taken on each directory the algorithm descends into (and each directory below that, and so on). If the
- aging algorithm finds a lock is already taken on some directory, it (and everything below it) is
- skipped. Applications may use this to temporarily exclude certain directory subtrees from the aging
- algorithm: the applications can take a BSD file lock themselves, and as long as they keep it aging of
- the directory and everything below it is disabled.</para>
+ taken on each directory/file the algorithm decides to remove. If the aging algorithm finds a lock (
+ shared or exclusive) is already taken on some directory/file, it (and everything below it) is skipped.
+ Applications may use this to temporarily exclude certain directory subtrees from the aging algorithm:
+ the applications can take a BSD file lock themselves, and as long as they keep it aging of the
+ directory/file and everything below it is disabled.</para>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
r = log_warning_errno(errno, "Failed to remove directory \"%s\", ignoring: %m", sub_path);
} else {
+ _cleanup_close_ int fd = -EBADF;
+
/* Skip files for which the sticky bit is set. These are semantics we define, and are
* unknown elsewhere. See XDG_RUNTIME_DIR specification for details. */
if (sx.stx_mode & S_ISVTX) {
cutoff_nsec, sub_path, age_by_file, false))
continue;
+ fd = xopenat(dirfd(d), de->d_name, O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC|O_NOFOLLOW|O_NOATIME, 0);
+ if (fd < 0 && fd != -ENOENT)
+ log_warning_errno(fd, "Opening file \"%s\" failed, ignoring: %m", sub_path);
+ if (fd >= 0 && flock(fd, LOCK_EX|LOCK_NB) < 0 && errno == EAGAIN) {
+ log_debug_errno(errno, "Couldn't acquire shared BSD lock on file \"%s\", skipping: %m", p);
+ continue;
+ }
+
log_debug("Removing \"%s\".", sub_path);
if (unlinkat(dirfd(d), de->d_name, 0) < 0)
if (errno != ENOENT)