public-inbox-purge - Man Page
erase messages from a public inbox and its history
Synopsis
# requires ~/.public-inbox/config public-inbox-purge --all </path/to/message-to-purge # for testing with unconfigured inboxes: public-inbox-purge $INBOX_DIR </path/to/message-to-purge
Description
public-inbox-purge allows removing entire messages in a given inbox from history. It is only intended as a last resort, as it will cause discontiguous git history and draw more attention to the sensitive data in mirrors.
For removing spam, public-inbox-learn(1) is preferable as it preserves contiguous git history.
For editing sensitive information out of messages, consider public-inbox-edit(1), instead, but keep in mind it still leads to discontiguous git history.
Options
- --all
Purge the message in all inboxes configured in ~/.public-inbox/config. This is an alternative to specifying individual inboxes directories on the command-line.
Environment
- PI_CONFIG
The default config file, normally "~/.public-inbox/config". See public-inbox-config(5)
Limitations
Only public-inbox-v2-format(5) inboxes are supported.
This is safe to run while normal inbox writing tools (public-inbox-mda(1), public-inbox-watch(1), public-inbox-learn(1)) are active.
Running this in parallel with public-inbox-xcpdb(1) or "public-inbox-index --reindex"
can lead to errors or purged data remaining indexed.
Incremental public-inbox-index(1) (without --reindex
) is fine.
Keep in mind this is a last resort, as it will be disruptive to anyone using git(1) to mirror the inbox being purged.
Contact
Feedback welcome via plain-text mail to <mailto:meta@public-inbox.org>
The mail archives are hosted at <https://public-inbox.org/meta/> and <http://4uok3hntl7oi7b4uf4rtfwefqeexfzil2w6kgk2jn5z2f764irre7byd.onion/meta/>
Copyright
Copyright 2019-2021 all contributors <mailto:meta@public-inbox.org>
License: AGPL-3.0+ <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0.txt>
See Also
Referenced By
public-inbox-edit(1), public-inbox-index(1), public-inbox-xcpdb(1).