Workspaces are a way to manage ephemeral data. They allow users to create folders that are automatically deleted if they haven't been used for a certain period of time. This is a convenient method for handling temporary files and preventing clutter on file systems.
Workspaces uses ZFS to efficiently manage the creation, extension, and deletion of workspaces.
Before installing Workspaces, you must have Rust installed. To install and build Workspaces, run the following command:
$ make && sudo make installYou must manually modify the /etc/workspaces/workspaces.toml file, and you
must have already set up a ZFS zpool.
To activate automatic deletion of old workspaces, enable the corresponding systemd timer:
$ sudo systemctl enable --now clean-workspaces.timerThis tutorial will walk you through the process of using Workspaces, including creating a workspace, extending its expiry date, and manually expiring it.
Use the workspaces filesystems command to display the available filesystems
and their associated details, including the amount of free space, the maximum
time you can initially create a workspace for, and the number of days a
read-only copy of your workspace will be kept after it expires before it is
finally deleted:
$ workspaces filesystems
FILESYSTEM FREE DURATION RETENTION
bulk 9.40T 90d 30d
ssd 321G 30d 7dTo create a workspace named testws on the bulk filesystem with a ten-day
expiry date, enter:
$ workspaces create -f bulk -d 10 testws
Created workspace at /mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/testwsUse the workspaces list command to view all available workspaces:
$ workspaces list
NAME USER FILESYSTEM EXPIRY DATE SIZE MOUNTPOINT
testws mvantreeck bulk expires in 9d 96K /mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/testwsYou may now use your workspace like any other folder:
$ echo "Hello workspaces" > /mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/testws/testfile
$ workspaces list
NAME USER FILESYSTEM EXPIRY DATE SIZE MOUNTPOINT
testws mvantreeck bulk expires in 9d 104K /mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/testwsIf you need to extend the expiry date of your workspace, use the extend
command:
$ workspaces list
NAME USER FILESYSTEM EXPIRY DATE SIZE MOUNTPOINT
testws mvantreeck bulk expires in 2d 104K /mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/testws
$ workspaces extend -f bulk -d 16 testws
$ workspaces list
NAME USER FILESYSTEM EXPIRY DATE SIZE MOUNTPOINT
testws mvantreeck bulk expires in 15d 104K /mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/testwsIf you fail to extend your workspace in time, it will expire and become read-only:
$ workspaces list
NAME USER FILESYSTEM EXPIRY DATE SIZE MOUNTPOINT
testws mvantreeck bulk deleted in 23d 104K /mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/testws
$ touch /mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/testws/testfile
touch: cannot touch '/mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/testws/testfile': Read-only file systemHowever, you can make it writable again by extending it once more:
$ workspaces extend -f bulk -d 3 testws
$ workspaces list
NAME USER FILESYSTEM EXPIRY DATE SIZE MOUNTPOINT
test1 mvantreeck bulk expires in 2d 104K /mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/test1
$ touch /mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/test1/testfile # completes successfullyIf you don't extend the workspace in time, it will eventually be deleted.
To manually expire a workspace that is no longer needed, you can use the
expire command. After running this command, the workspace will will become
read-only and marked for eventualy deletion:
$ workspaces expire -f bulk testws
$ workspaces list
NAME USER FILESYSTEM EXPIRY DATE SIZE MOUNTPOINT
testws mvantreeck bulk deleted in 29d 104K /mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/testws
$ touch /mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/testws/testfile
touch: cannot touch '/mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/testws/testfile': Read-only file systemIf you change your mind and decide you need the workspace again before its final
deletion date, you can extend its expiry date using the extend command.
However, if you want to free up space immediately and flag the workspace for
immediate deletion, you can use the --terminally flag:
$ workspaces expire -f bulk --terminally testws
$ workspaces list
NAME USER FILESYSTEM EXPIRY DATE SIZE MOUNTPOINT
testws mvantreeck bulk deleted soon 104K /mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/testwsThis will delete the workspace the next time the garbage collector is run.
Usually, your system administrator will have set up the garbage collector to automatically clean up workspaces that are flagged for deletion once in a while. However, you can also manually run the garbage collector using the clean command:
$ workspaces list
NAME USER FILESYSTEM EXPIRY DATE SIZE MOUNTPOINT
testws mvantreeck bulk deleted soon 104K /mnt/bulk/mvantreeck/testws
$ workspaces clean
NAME USER FILESYSTEM EXPIRY DATE SIZE MOUNTPOINT
[ no workspaces ]