PM-CLEAN(1)

💖 PM-CLEAN(1) 💖

okay bestie, so this is pm-clean from the NCBI Entrez Direct User's Manual — one of the little helper scripts that keeps your local archive from turning into a chaotic mess. let's get into it 🧹✨

✨ NAME ✨

pm-clean — clean a local NCBI Entrez Direct archive 🫧

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

pm-clean -db database [-fields fields] [-]clean|[-]clear|[-]scrap|
[-]scrub|[-]scour|[-]erase|[-]zap|[-]scratch

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

pm-clean cleans part or all of a local NCBI Entrez Direct archive. that's it, that's the whole vibe. it's giving "girl with a broom, absolutely unbothered" 💅

💅 OPTIONS 💅

so like, the mode flags can be written with or without the leading dash — both forms hit the same, no cap. pick one of them though, fr fr.

• -db database — the specific database you wanna clean. you gotta say which one, bestie.
• -fields fields — the Postings directories to delete while in -scratch mode; by default it's none, zero, nada. heads up: whitespace is the only delimiter, which typically means you're gonna need shell quoting. so quote it. protect your little list. 🙈
• [-]clean | [-]clear — deletes the Indices contents and the Increment files. light tidy energy ✨
• [-]scrap — deletes all the Postings directories. bye bye 🗑️
• [-]scrub — deletes the Indices contents, the Increment files, and all the Postings directories. deep clean moment.
• [-]scour — deletes the Indices contents, the Increment files, and all Postings, Data, Archive, and Sentinel directories. okay she's going IN 😤
• [-]erase — deletes the Indices contents, the Increment files, all Postings, Data, Archive, and Sentinel directories, and the Extras directory contents. full send. nothing survives 💀
• [-]zap — deletes the entire archive. whole thing. gone. main character demolition energy ⚡ please be sure, bestie.
• [-]scratch — deletes the Scratch directories, plus any Postsings directories that -fields named. (yes, that's spelled Postsings in the original, and yes, we're keeping it exactly as it is — no edits, not my business 🎀)

ngl, the ladder goes: clean/clear → scrap → scrub → scour → erase → zap. each rung eats more than the last. zap is the "delete the entire archive" rung. you've been warned, icon. 🔥

🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

• EDIRECT_LOCAL_ARCHIVE — the local archive directory to use; it's expected to hold an absolute path. absolute, not relative, don't test her. 🫶

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

archive-nihocc(1), archive-nlmnlp(1), archive-nmcds(1), archive-pids(1), archive-pmc(1), archive-pubmed(1), archive-taxonomy(1), pm-prepare(1), pm-refresh(1), rchive(1) — the whole friend group, go say hi 🦋

NCBI · 2025-05-26 · mwah, that's a wrap bestie, go forth and clean responsibly 💖✨🧹👑