One day, I decided to start tracking with git the edits I had made to files in ///etc//.

The problem is: I didn't know which one they were.

So I wrote this script to find them. You need **python-apt** to run it.

{{:informatica:list_modified_conffiles.py|Click here to download it}}


  #! /usr/bin/python
  # Check files in /etc for
  # 1) files changed from the default ones
  # 2) files which are contained in packages but are not conffiles
  # 3) files which are not contained in any packages (though they are possibly
  #    _created_ by some package at configuration time)
  
  import apt
  import subprocess
  import hashlib
  import os
  import glob
  
  __version__ = '0.1'
  
  c = apt.Cache()
  
  def main():
      pkg_etc_files = []
  
      for package in c:
          etc_files = filter( startswith( '/etc/' ), package.installed_files)
          if etc_files:
              cmd = "dpkg --status %s" % package.name
      #        print cmd.split()
              dpkg = subprocess.Popen( cmd.split(), stdout=subprocess.PIPE )
              pkg_info = dpkg.stdout.readlines()
              conf_info = filter( startswith( ' /etc' ), pkg_info )
      #        print pkg_info, conf_info
              for conffile in etc_files:
                  if not os.path.isfile( conffile ):
                      # Probably a directory:
                      continue
                  f_hand = open( conffile )
                  f_cont = f_hand.read()
                  f_hand.close()
                  true_md5 = hashlib.md5( f_cont ).hexdigest()
                  
                  appropr_line = filter( startswith( ' %s ' % conffile ), conf_info )
                  try:
                      assert len( appropr_line ) == 1
                      appropr_line = appropr_line[0]
                      theorical_md5 = appropr_line.split()[1]
                      if true_md5 != theorical_md5:
                          print "\t\t\t\033[1m%s changed\033[0m" % conffile
                  except:
                      print "%s is installed in /etc but is apparently not a conffile" % conffile
              
              pkg_etc_files.extend( etc_files )
      
      print """\n\n\t\033[1mMoreover, the following files in /etc aren't contained in any installed package
      \t(either they are created on-the-fly, or they are part of an uninstalled package):\033[0m\n"""
      
      
      
      etc_files = set( all_files( '/etc' ) )
      
      etc_files.difference_update( pkg_etc_files )
      
      print ", ".join( etc_files )
  
  
  def startswith( what ):
      return (lambda s : s.startswith( what ))
  
  def all_files( root ):
      files_list = []
      walker = os.walk( root )
      while True:
          try:
              basedir, subdirs, files = walker.next()
              new = [os.path.join( basedir, a_file ) for a_file in files]
              files_list.extend( new )
          except StopIteration:
              break
      
      return files_list
  
  
  if __name__ == "__main__":
      main()