https://github.com/timintech/scrape-together-old-photos
A script to find and recover old photos from external storage devices.
https://github.com/timintech/scrape-together-old-photos
backup-automation data-recovery filesystem-scanning hard-drive-scanner lost-files usb-recovery
Last synced: about 2 months ago
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A script to find and recover old photos from external storage devices.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/timintech/scrape-together-old-photos
- Owner: TimInTech
- Created: 2023-09-19T10:00:05.000Z (over 1 year ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-02-26T03:20:09.000Z (3 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-02-26T04:19:01.102Z (3 months ago)
- Topics: backup-automation, data-recovery, filesystem-scanning, hard-drive-scanner, lost-files, usb-recovery
- Language: Shell
- Homepage: https://TimInTech.github.io/Scrape-together-old-photos
- Size: 8.79 KB
- Stars: 1
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# 📸 **Scrape-together-old-photos - Digital Time Capsule**
## **🕰️ Welcome to the Time Capsule Community!**
We are on a mission to **rediscover and preserve old memories** by searching forgotten **hard drives, USB devices, and folders** for lost photos.
This repository provides a **Bash script** that automatically scans your **external storage devices**, extracts images, and organizes them **by year and month** based on metadata.
---
## **🛠️ Features**
✅ **Scans external drives & USB devices** for old photos
✅ **Detects images** (`.jpg`, `.png`, `.gif`, `.tiff`, `.bmp`)
✅ **Sorts images by year & month** based on file metadata
✅ **Creates a log file** for tracking scanned files
---
# 🚀 **Script: `scrape_photos.sh`**
### **📂 How It Works:**
- The script **searches all mounted drives** for image files.
- It **copies** them into a **central backup folder** sorted by **year and month**.
- A **log file** keeps track of all extracted images.
---
### **📜 Bash Script (`scrape_photos.sh`)**
Save the following script as `scrape_photos.sh`, **make it executable**, and run it.
```bash
#!/bin/bash
# Scrape-together-old-photos - Find and recover old photos from external storage
# Author: TimInTech | Version: 1.0
# Description: This script scans connected hard drives & USB devices for old photos and copies them to a central "Recovered" folder.
### 🔍 STEP 1: Define Directories ###
BACKUP_DIR="$HOME/Recovered"
LOG_FILE="$BACKUP_DIR/scrape_log.txt"
# Create backup folder if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"
### 📂 STEP 2: Find All External Drives ###
echo "[INFO] Searching for connected hard drives & USB devices..." | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
MOUNT_POINTS=$(lsblk -o MOUNTPOINT,TYPE | grep part | awk '{print $1}')
if [ -z "$MOUNT_POINTS" ]; then
echo "[WARNING] No external drives found!" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
exit 1
fi
### 🖼️ STEP 3: Search for Photos & Copy Them ###
echo "[INFO] Scanning the following drives: $MOUNT_POINTS" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
for DRIVE in $MOUNT_POINTS; do
echo "[INFO] Scanning $DRIVE for image files..." | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
find "$DRIVE" -type f \( -iname "*.jpg" -o -iname "*.png" -o -iname "*.gif" -o -iname "*.tiff" -o -iname "*.bmp" \) | while read -r FILE; do
# Extract metadata (year and month)
YEAR=$(stat -c %y "$FILE" | cut -d'-' -f1)
MONTH=$(stat -c %y "$FILE" | cut -d'-' -f2)
# Create target folder
TARGET_DIR="$BACKUP_DIR/$YEAR/$MONTH"
mkdir -p "$TARGET_DIR"
# Copy file
cp -n "$FILE" "$TARGET_DIR"
echo "[OK] Saved: $FILE → $TARGET_DIR" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
done
done
echo "[DONE] All images have been saved to: $BACKUP_DIR" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
```
---
## **📖 Installation & Usage**
### 🔹 **1. Download the Script**
```bash
git clone https://github.com/TimInTech/Scrape-together-old-photos.git
cd Scrape-together-old-photos
chmod +x scrape_photos.sh
```
### 🔹 **2. Run the Script**
```bash
./scrape_photos.sh
```
### 🔹 **3. View the Results**
- 📂 Images are stored in: `~/Recovered/Year/Month/`
- 📄 Log file: `scrape_log.txt`
---
## 🔧 **Additional Commands**
### 📌 **View Logs**
Check the scan log to see which files were processed:
```bash
cat ~/Recovered/scrape_log.txt
```
### 📌 **Delete Duplicate Files**
If you want to remove duplicate images, use `fdupes`:
```bash
sudo apt install fdupes
fdupes -rd ~/Recovered
```
### 📌 **Manually List External Drives**
```bash
lsblk | grep -i usb
```
### 📌 **Delete the Backup Folder (If Needed)**
```bash
rm -rf ~/Recovered
```
---
## **🤝 Contribute**
🔹 Found an issue? **Report it!**
🔹 Want to improve the script? **Submit a Pull Request!**