Linux 🧹 How to delete all files in a Linux directory except for the necessary extensions

[dEEpEst]

How to delete all files in a Linux directory except for the necessary extensions

Want to empty a folder, but keep .zip, .txt or .odt? There are three ways to do this in Linux:

1. Extended Bash patterns (`extglob`)

shopt -s extglob
rm -v !(*.zip|*.odt)
shopt -u extglob

Deletes all files except .zip and .odt. Convenient for quick deletion in one folder.

2. Via `find` - powerful and recursive

find . -type f -not -name "*.gz" -delete

Deletes everything except .gz. Good for nested directories and complex filters.

3. Bash variable `GLOBIGNORE`

GLOBIGNORE=*.odt:*.txt
rm -v *
unset GLOBIGNORE

Removes everything except the specified extensions. Convenient if you are in Bash and want to quickly exclude what you need.