Cleaning up uploaded form files 

New in version 14.2 Feature: #89951 - Cleanup command for form file upload folders

The form elements FileUpload and ImageUpload store uploaded files in sub-folders named form_<hash>. These folders are placed in the upload folder that the element property saveToFileMount defines, for example 1:/user_upload/.

The folders accumulate over time. Submitted forms and abandoned forms both leave folders behind. The DeleteUploads finisher only removes files of successfully submitted forms.

The console command vendor/bin/typo3 form:cleanup:uploads removes old form upload folders. Uploaded files are not moved when a form is submitted. The command therefore cannot tell folders of submitted and abandoned forms apart. It removes a folder if both of the following conditions are true:

  • The folder name is form_ followed by exactly 40 hexadecimal characters.
  • The folder was last modified before the retention period. The default retention period is 336 hours (2 weeks).

The command only checks the direct sub-folders of the given upload folders.

Table of contents

Run the command 

Pass at least one upload folder as a combined folder identifier. If form elements use different upload folders, pass all of them.

# List form upload folders older than 2 weeks without deleting them
vendor/bin/typo3 form:cleanup:uploads 1:/user_upload/ --dry-run

# Delete form upload folders older than 48 hours
vendor/bin/typo3 form:cleanup:uploads 1:/user_upload/ --retention-period=48

# Scan several upload folders
vendor/bin/typo3 form:cleanup:uploads 1:/user_upload/ 2:/custom_uploads/

# Delete without confirmation
vendor/bin/typo3 form:cleanup:uploads 1:/user_upload/ --force

# Show the age and the number of files of each folder
vendor/bin/typo3 form:cleanup:uploads 1:/user_upload/ --dry-run -v
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Without --dry-run or --force, the command asks for confirmation before it deletes the folders.

Arguments and options 

upload-folder
Type
string
Required

true

Combined identifier of an upload folder to scan, for example 1:/user_upload/. Pass several folders as separate arguments.

--retention-period / -r
Type
integer
Default
336

Minimum age in hours before a form upload folder is removed. The value must be at least 1.

--dry-run
Type
bool
Default
false

Lists the expired folders without deleting them.

--force / -f
Type
bool
Default
false

Skips the confirmation question. The command sets this option automatically when it runs without interaction, for example with --no-interaction or in the scheduler.

Run the command regularly 

Run the command regularly to keep the upload folders clean, for example once a day or once a week. Use one of the following options:

  • Create a task of type Execute console commands in the scheduler and select form:cleanup:uploads.
  • Add the command to a cron job on the server.