Recursively find and delete all Emacs backup files (ending in '~') in the given directory (defaults to current directory).

cleanup-emacs-backups.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# cleanup-emacs-backups.sh
#
# Recursively find and delete all Emacs backup files (ending in '~') in
# the given directory (defaults to current directory).
#
# Usage:
#   ./cleanup-emacs-backups.sh         # cleans up under $PWD
#   ./cleanup-emacs-backups.sh /path   # cleans up under /path
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Directory to scan (default to current)
TARGET_DIR="${1:-.}"

# Confirm the directory exists
if [[ ! -d "$TARGET_DIR" ]]; then
  echo "Error: '$TARGET_DIR' is not a directory." >&2
  exit 1
fi

echo "Scanning for Emacs backup files in: $TARGET_DIR"
# List what will be deleted
find "$TARGET_DIR" -type f -name '*~' -print

# Prompt for confirmation
read -rp "Delete all these files? [y/N] " confirm
if [[ "$confirm" =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
  echo "Deleting..."
  find "$TARGET_DIR" -type f -name '*~' -delete
  echo "All Emacs backup files removed."
else
  echo "Aborted. No files were deleted."
fi