updatedb(8)                                                                                                          updatedb(8)



NAME
       updatedb - update a database for mlocate


SYNOPSIS
       updatedb [OPTION]...


DESCRIPTION
       updatedb  creates  or  updates a database used by locate(1).  If the database already exists, its data is reused to avoid
       rereading directories that have not changed.

       updatedb is usually run daily by cron(8) to update the default database.


EXIT STATUS
       updatedb returns with exit status 0 on success, 1 on error.


OPTIONS
       The PRUNE_BIND_MOUNTS, PRUNEFS, PRUNENAMES and PRUNEPATHS variables, which are modified by some of the options, are docu-
       mented in detail in updatedb.conf(5).


       -f, --add-prunefs FS
              Add entries in white-space-separated list FS to PRUNEFS.


       -n, --add-prunenames NAMES
              Add entries in white-space-separated list NAMES to PRUNENAMES.


       -e, --add-prunepaths PATHS
              Add entries in white-space-separated list PATHS to PRUNEPATHS.


       -U, --database-root PATH
              Store  only  results of scanning the file system subtree rooted at PATH to the generated database.  The whole file
              system is scanned by default.

              locate(1) outputs entries as absolute path names which don't contain symbolic links, regardless  of  the  form  of
              PATH.


       --debug-pruning
              Write debugging information about pruning decisions to standard error output.


       -h, --help
              Write a summary of the available options to standard output and exit successfully.


       -o, --output FILE
              Write the database to FILE instead of using the default database.


       --prune-bind-mounts FLAG
              Set PRUNE_BIND_MOUNTS to FLAG, overriding the configuration file.


       --prunefs FS
              Set PRUNEFS to FS, overriding the configuration file.


       --prunenames NAMES
              Set PRUNENAMES to NAMES, overriding the configuration file.


       --prunepaths PATHS
              Set PRUNEPATHS to PATHS, overriding the configuration file.


       -l, --require-visibility FLAG
              Set the "require file visibility before reporting it" flag in the generated database to FLAG.

              If  FLAG is 0 or no, or if the database file is readable by "others" or it is not owned by slocate, locate(1) out-
              puts the database entries even if the user running locate(1) could not have read the directory necessary  to  find
              out the file described by the database entry.

              If  FLAG  is  1  or yes (the default), locate(1) checks the permissions of parent directories of each entry before
              reporting it to the invoking user.  To make the file existence truly hidden from other users, the  database  group
              is  set  to  slocate  and  the  database permissions prohibit reading the database by users using other means than
              locate(1), which is set-gid slocate.

              Note that the visibility flag is checked only if the database is owned by slocate and it is not readable by  "oth-
              ers".


       -v, --verbose
              Output path names of files to standard output, as soon as they are found.


       -V, --version
              Write information about the version and licence of locate on standard output and exit successfully.


EXAMPLES
       To create a private mlocate database as an user other than root, run
              updatedb -l 0 -o db_file -U source_directory
       Note that all users that can read db_file can get the complete list of files in the subtree of source_directory.


FILES
       /etc/updatedb.conf
              A configuration file.  See updatedb.conf(5).


       /var/lib/mlocate/mlocate.db
              The database updated by default.


SECURITY
       Databases  built  with  --require-visibility  no allow users to find names of files and directories of other users, which
       they would not otherwise be able to do.


NOTES
       The accompanying locate(1) utility was designed to be compatible to slocate and attempts to be compatible to  GNU  locate
       where possible.  This is not the case for updatedb.


AUTHOR
       Miloslav Trmac <mitrATredhat.com>


SEE ALSO
       locate(1), mlocate.db(5), updatedb.conf(5)



mlocate                                                     Jun 2008                                                 updatedb(8)