Re: GNU Tar ---exclude-from

[Nathan Stratton Treadway]

On Sun, Aug 22, 2021 at 13:58:48 -0400, Robert Murphy wrote:
> I am having trouble with the --exclude-from option in version 1.13.  It
> appears --exclude-from does not work.  Below is the command line I am using
> and multiple --exclude-from file(s).
> 
> tar -c  -f x9.tar -v  --exclude-from=xx.txt   *.*
[...]> 
> file xx.txt
> *.cache
> EOF

I believe this is the format you want to use in your xx.txt file (i.e.
plain file glob pattern on each line, with no quote characters).

When you say "--exclude-from does not work", I take it you mean that the
files you are trying to exclude are still getting included in the
archive?

What operating system are you using, and what's the exact version of tar
1.13?  


>From the changelog/new files it looks like very early versions in the
1.13 range do NOT exclude files that are listed explicitly on the
command line, even if they do match the exclude pattern.... so: does the
exclude work if you specify a directory name (e.g. ".") rather than
"*.*" on the tar command line?

                                                                Nathan

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