Provided by: fpart_1.4.0-1_amd64 
NAME
fpart — Sort and pack files into partitions
SYNOPSIS
fpart [-h] [-V] -n num | -f files | -s size [-i infile] [-a] [-o outfile] [-0] [-e] [-v] [-l] [-b]
[-y pattern] [-Y pattern] [-x pattern] [-X pattern] [-z] [-zz] [-zzz] [-d depth] [-D] [-E] [-L]
[-w cmd] [-W cmd] [-p num] [-q num] [-r num] [FILE or DIR...]
DESCRIPTION
The fpart utility helps you sort file trees and pack them into bags (called "partitions").
GENERAL OPTIONS
-h Print help
-V Print version
PARTITION CONTROL
-n num Create exactly num partitions and try to generate partitions with the same size and number of
files. This option cannot be used in conjunction with -f, -s or -L.
-f files
Create partitions containing at most files files or directories. This option can be used in
conjunction with -s and -L.
-s size
Create partitions with a maximum size of size bytes. With this option, partition 0 may be used
to handle files that do not fit in a regular partition, given the provided size limit. This
option can be used in conjunction with -f and -L. You can use a human-friendly unit suffix here
(k, m, g, t, p).
INPUT CONTROL
-i infile
Read file list from infile. If infile is “-”, then list is read from stdin.
-a Input contains arbitrary values; just sort them (do not crawl filesystem). Input must follow the
“size(blank)path” scheme. This option is incompatible with crawling-related options.
OUTPUT CONTROL
-o outfile
Output partitions' contents to outfile template. Multiple files will be generated given that
template. Each outfile will get partition number as a suffix. If outfile is “-”, then
partitions will be printed to stdout, with partition number used as a prefix (so you can grep
partitions you are interested in, or do whatever you want).
-0 End filenames with a null (’\0’) character when using option -o.
-e When adding directories (see “DIRECTORY HANDLING” ), add an ending “/” to each directory entry.
-v Verbose mode (may be specified more than once).
FILESYSTEM CRAWLING CONTROL
-l Follow symbolic links (default: do not follow).
-b Do not cross filesystem boundaries (default: cross).
-y pattern
Include files or directories matching pattern only (and discard all other files). This option
may be specified several times. Pattern may be a leaf (file or directory) name or a specific
path. Shell pattern matching characters (“[”, “]”, “*”, “?”) may be used. Include patterns are
ignored when computing size of directories.
-Y pattern
Same as -y but case insensitive. This option may not be available on your platform (at least
FreeBSD and GNU/Linux support it, Solaris does not).
-x pattern
Exclude files or directories matching pattern. This option can be used in conjunction with -y
and -Y. In this case, exclusion is performed after. This option may be specified several times.
Pattern may be a leaf (file or directory) name or a specific path. Shell pattern matching
characters (“[”, “]”, “*”, “?”) may be used. Exclude patterns also apply when computing size of
directories.
-X pattern
Same as -x but case insensitive. This option may not be available on your platform (at least
FreeBSD and GNU/Linux support it, Solaris does not).
DIRECTORY HANDLING
-z Pack empty directories. By default, fpart will pack files only (except when using the -d or -D
options). This option can be useful for tools such as rsync(1) to be able to recreate a full
file tree when used with fpart (e.g. using rsync's --files-from option). See the -zz option to
also pack un-readable directories.
-zz Treat un-readable directories as empty, causing them to be packed anyway.
-zzz Pack all directories (as empty). Useful when 3rd party tools need directory entries to update
them (e.g. cpio or tar).
-d depth
After a certain depth, pack directories instead of files (directories themselves will be added to
partitions, instead of their content). You can force a specific file to be packed anyway by
listing it on the command line explicitly.
-D Implies -z. Pack leaf directories: if a directory contains files only, it will be packed as a
single entry. You can force a specific file to be packed anyway by listing it on the command
line explicitly.
-E Implies -D. Pack directories only (work on a per-directory basis): in that mode, no file will be
packed. Instead, each directory will be packed as a single entry with a size being the sum of
all top-level files' sizes. You can force a specific file to be packed anyway by listing it on
the command line explicitly.
LIVE MODE
-L Live mode (default: disabled). When using this mode, partitions will be generated while crawling
filesystem. This option saves time and memory, but does not give partition 0 a special meaning
(see option -s ). As a consequence, it can generate partitions larger than the size specified
with option -s. This option can be used in conjunction with options -f and -s, but not with
option -n.
-w cmd When using live mode, execute cmd when starting a new partition (before having opened next output
file, if any). cmd is run in a specific environment that provides several variables describing
the state of the program: FPART_HOOKTYPE ("pre-part" or "post-part"), FPART_PARTFILENAME (current
partition's output file name), FPART_PARTNUMBER (current partition number), FPART_PARTSIZE
(current partition size), FPART_PARTNUMFILES (number of files in current partition), FPART_PID
(PID of fpart). Note that variables may or may not be defined, depending of requested options
and current partition's state when the hook is triggered. Also, note that hooks are executed in
a synchronous way while crawling filesystem, so 1) avoid executing commands that take a long time
to return as it slows down filesystem crawling and 2) do not presume cwd (PWD) is the one fpart
has been started in, as it is regularly changed to speed up crawling (use absolute paths within
hooks).
-W cmd Same as -w, but executes cmd when finishing a partition (after having closed last output file, if
any).
SIZE HANDLING
-p num Preload each partition with num bytes. You can use a human-friendly unit suffix here (k, m, g,
t, p).
-q num Overload each file size with num bytes. You can use a human-friendly unit suffix here (k, m, g,
t, p).
-r num Round each file size up to next num bytes multiple. This option can be used in conjunction with
overloading, which is done *before* rounding. You can use a human-friendly unit suffix here (k,
m, g, t, p).
EXAMPLES
Here are some examples:
fpart -n 3 -o var-parts /var
Produce 3 partitions, with (hopefully) the same size and number of files. Three files: var-
parts.0, var-parts.1 and var-parts.2 are generated as output.
fpart -s 4724464025 -o music-parts /path/to/music ./*.mp3
Produce partitions of 4.4 GB, containing music files from /path/to/music as well as MP3 files
from current directory; with such a partition size, each partition content will be ready to be
burnt to a DVD. Files music-parts.0 to music-parts.n, are generated as output.
find /usr ! -type d | fpart -f 10000 -i - /home | grep '^0:'
Produce partitions containing 10000 files each by examining /usr first and then /home and display
only partition 0 on stdout.
du * | fpart -n 2 -a
Produce two partitions by using du(1) output. Fpart will not examine the file system but instead
use arbitrary values printed by du(1) and sort them.
SEE ALSO
du(1), find(1), fpsync(1), grep(1), rsync(1)
AUTHOR, AVAILABILITY
Fpart has been written by Ganaël LAPLANCHE and is available under the BSD license on
http://contribs.martymac.org
BUGS
No bug known (yet).
Debian November 18, 2011 FPART(1)