Remove-OldFiles.ps1 is a complete script to help SysAdmins rotating stale files in any directory either local or remote.
Script support both PowerShell and PowerShell core and is designed to be run as either a scheduled task or as part of any other automation framework like System Center Orchestrator.
Remove-OldFiles.ps1 uses an external comma separated file (csv) file named FilePaths.csv as a centralized configuration file for the maximum flexibility, fields and their usage are described in the table below
| Column Name | Description | Values | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| CleanupPath | Path to scan for old files | Local or UNC Path | If empty script will log an exception |
| FileExtension | Files to search for cleanup | Any string like log, pdf, txt | If empty will match all files (*.*) |
| AgeTolerance | Tolerance in days | Any number like 30 or 90 | If empty will default to 90 days |
| IncludeSubFolders | Defines if recursion should be used | 0 or 1 | If not specified it will default to 0 (no recursion) Any other value will cause script to log an exception |
Note: Configuration file name can be changed as long it is updated in $cleanupPath variable
In addition to updating the CSV file with path and options script needs a few customization before being ready for production.
Script integrates a full logging function to make troubleshooting easier in case of issues, all log messages have been already configure 1 the only required step is setting the correct path where log will be written via the $logPath variable
[string]$logPath = '\\MyServer\ScriptLog\Remove-OldFiles\'Log file name can be customized via the $logName variable
# Define log name
[string]$logFilePath = $logPath + $dateString + '-RemoveOldFiles.log'Note: Logging function is also available as a standalone download or as part of the IT-ToolBox module.
In addition to log file creation script supports mail notifications via Email only when an exception is thrown during execution.
All mail related configuration parameters, included HTML code for mail body, are defined in a region named Mail Settings Configuration, before script execution at least the following parameters should be set to allow correct operation
# Set mail settings
[string]$mailSender = # Mail Sender
[string[]]$mailRecipients = # 'somebody@somewhere.com', 'admin@somewhere.com'
[string]$smtpRelay = #smtpRelayFolders can be ignored, useful when using recursion, creating a file named ignore underneath the path that should be skipped. File name can be customized updating the $ignoreFile variable value
# Define Ignore control file
[string]$ignoreFile = 'ignore'1 All messages can be customized and additional ones can be defined as required.