updatedb.conf(5)	      File Formats Manual	      updatedb.conf(5)



NAME
       /etc/updatedb.conf - a configuration file for updatedb(8)


DESCRIPTION
       /etc/updatedb.conf is a text file.  Blank lines are ignored.  A # char-
       acter outside of a quoted string starts a comment extending  until  end
       of line.

       Other lines must be of the following form:
	      VARIABLE = "VALUE"

       White  space  between  tokens  is ignored.  VARIABLE is an alphanumeric
       string which does not start with a digit.  VALUE can contain any	 char-
       acter  except for ".  No escape mechanism is supported within VALUE and
       there is no way to write VALUE spanning more than one line.

       Unknown VARIABLE values are considered an error.	 The defined variables
       are:


       PRUNEFS
	      A	 whitespace-separated  list  of	 file system types (as used in
	      /etc/mtab) which should not be scanned by updatedb(8).  The file
	      system  type  matching is case-insensitive.  By default, no file
	      system types are skipped.

	      When scanning a file system is skipped, all file systems mounted
	      in  the  subtree	are  skipped  too, even if their type does not
	      match any entry in PRUNEFS.


       PRUNENAMES
	      A whitespace-separated list of directory names  (without	paths)
	      which  should  not  be  scanned  by updatedb(8).	By default, no
	      directory names are skipped.

	      Note that only directories can  be  specified,  and  no  pattern
	      mechanism (e.g.  globbing) is used.


       PRUNEPATHS
	      A	 whitespace-separated  list of path names of directories which
	      should not be scanned by updatedb(8).  Each path	name  must  be
	      exactly  in the form in which the directory would be reported by
	      locate(1).

	      By default, no paths are skipped.


       PRUNE_BIND_MOUNTS
	      One of the strings 0, no, 1 or yes.  If PRUNE_BIND_MOUNTS	 is  1
	      or  yes,	bind  mounts are not scanned by updatedb(8).  All file
	      systems mounted in the subtree of a bind mount  are  skipped  as
	      well,  even  if they are not bind mounts.	 As an exception, bind
	      mounts of a directory on itself are not skipped.

	      By default, bind mounts are not skipped.


NOTES
       When a directory is  matched  by	 PRUNEFS,  PRUNENAMES  or  PRUNEPATHS,
       updatedb(8)  does  not scan the contents of the directory.  The path of
       the directory itself is, however, entered in the created database.  For
       example,	 if  /tmp  is in PRUNEPATHS, locate(1) will not show any files
       stored in /tmp, but it can show the /tmp directory.  This behavior dif-
       fers from traditional locate implementations.

       In  some	 updatedb(8) implementations PRUNEPATHS can be used to exclude
       non-directory files.  This is not the case in this implementation.

       /etc/updatedb.conf is a shell script  in	 some  implementations,	 which
       allows  much  more  flexibility	in defining the variables.  Equivalent
       functionality can be achieved by	 using	the  command-line  options  to
       updatedb(8).


AUTHOR
       Miloslav Trmac <mitr@redhat.com>


SEE ALSO
       locate(1), updatedb(8)



mlocate				   Jun 2008		      updatedb.conf(5)