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Optimized iPhone Backup + Parallel Cleanup Script (DCIM only)

Summary

This script mounts an iPhone, copies the DCIM folder into a dated backup, optionally calculates file hashes, deletes old photos from the device (based on a cutoff date), removes empty DCIM directories, and generates an HTML report + log. It supports a dry-run mode to preview deletions.

Prerequisites

  • bash (the script is a bash script)
  • ifuse (to mount the iPhone)
  • rsync (for copying files)
  • sha256sum (recommended; used to update the hash DB)
  • exiftool (optional; used to read EXIF dates for better precision)
  • google-chrome or google-chrome-stable (optional; used to auto-open the HTML report)
  • sudo access for mount/unmount and deletion operations

CLI Options

You can now pass options directly via command line:

  • --dry-run — preview changes without deleting files or creating archive.
  • --cores N — set number of parallel workers (default: 4).
  • --help — show usage help.

Configuration (edit at top of iphone_backup.sh)

For settings not exposed as CLI flags, edit the script directly:

  • MOUNT_POINT — where the phone is mounted (e.g. /media/pete/New Volume/iphone).
  • BACKUP_ROOT — root path where backups, reports, logs, and temporary dirs are stored.
  • CUTOFF_DATE_IPHONE — numeric epoch cutoff used to select files to delete (script sets to 12 months ago by default).
  • HASH_DB, TMP_BACKUP_DIR, ARCHIVE_NAME, REPORT_FILE, DELETED_FILES_LIST, LOG_FILE — paths derived from BACKUP_ROOT.

Usage

  1. Make the script executable (if not already):
chmod +x iphone_backup.sh
  1. Run the script with optional flags (you will be prompted for sudo where needed):
./iphone_backup.sh
  1. Test with a dry run:
./iphone_backup.sh --dry-run
  1. Run with custom parallelism:
./iphone_backup.sh --cores 3
  1. Combine flags:
./iphone_backup.sh --dry-run --cores 3

Tips

  • To change deletion age, edit the CUTOFF_DATE_IPHONE assignment (e.g. use date -d "6 months ago" +%s).
  • Use --cores N to adjust parallelism based on your CPU (e.g. --cores 4 for faster hashing/deletions).
  • If you want EXIF-based timestamps for deletion, install exiftool; the script auto-detects it.
  • The script appends logs to LOG_FILE and records deleted/dry-run items in DELETED_FILES_LIST.
  • The script will automatically unmount the iPhone on exit (normal or interrupted).
  • If required dependencies are missing, the script will report them and exit with code 1.

Safety & Troubleshooting

  • Always run a dry run first (--dry-run flag) to verify which files would be deleted.
  • Ensure MOUNT_POINT and BACKUP_ROOT are accessible and have sufficient free space.
  • If the DCIM folder is not found, check that ifuse mounted the device successfully and that the phone is unlocked/trusted.
  • If Chrome doesn't open automatically, open the generated HTML report at the path printed in the log.
  • If you press Ctrl+C during execution, the script will gracefully unmount the iPhone before exiting.

Examples

  • Full backup + cleanup (interactive sudo prompts as needed):
./iphone_backup.sh
  • Dry run (preview deletions, no archive):
./iphone_backup.sh --dry-run
  • Dry run with increased parallelism:
./iphone_backup.sh --dry-run --cores 4
  • Run with custom core count (for faster performance on high-CPU systems):
./iphone_backup.sh --cores 16
  • Show help:
./iphone_backup.sh --help

License

See the project LICENSE file for licensing details.

Contact

For bug reports or feature requests, open an issue in your project tracker.