Linux Bash - excluding directories with find - linux

Question

i'm having some trouble with a bash script i'm currently writing, and I've isolated the problematic code.
Find command when using argument from variable does not exclude directories.
Now i need to assign the '-not -path ./dir' argument to a variable as it's being looped over, however if i do, it doesn't seem to work.
I've included below the command that produces the desired output, along with my version which currently is broken. Please see my test below:
Variable assignment
findIgnorePaths="-not -path ./\.git\* -not -path ./administrator/cache\* -not -path ./images\* -not -path ./logs\* -not -path ./cache\* -not -path ./media\* -not -path ./plugins\* -not -path ./tmp\*"
Desired output.
find ./ -type d -not -path ./\.git\* -not -path ./administrator/cache\* -not -path ./images\* -not -path ./logs\* -not -path ./cache\* -not -path ./media\* -not -path ./plugins\* -not -path ./tmp\*
Broken output
find ./ -type d ${findIgnorePaths}
And for anyone who wants to see my script i'm working on which the problem above resides in, then please take a look below:
Original script (Not required to read to answer question, but... provided for those curious souls)
#!/bin/sh
declare -a ignoreDirs=()
findIgnorePaths=""
seperator="\e[33m**********************************\e[0m\n"
clear
printf "\n\n"
if [[ "${PWD##*/}" != "public_html" ]]
then
printf "\e[31mThis script will not run unless current location is; /home/*/public_html/*\e[0m\n"
exit
fi
echo "Site Locker! This will change all directory permissions to 555. And all file permissions to 444. Read only accces."
echo #Move to new line
echo "Are you sure you want to make changes to files/directories within the below location?"
printf "$seperator"
printf "\e[0;49;96m${PWD##/home/}\e[0m\n"
printf "$seperator"
echo #Move to new line
read -r -p "Y/n " response
echo #Move to new line
if [[ $response =~ ^([nN][oO]|[nN])$ ]]
then
printf "\n\e[31mNo changes made. Quitting.\e[0m\n\n"
exit
fi
printf "\e[95mIf you're working with a Joomla site, please select\nthe **JOOMLA** preset in the list below.\e[0m\n\nPlease select directory #) to add to the ignore list:\n\e[92m"
currentDir=( "**SAVE/SKIP**" "**JOOMLA**" )
currentDir+=( $(find . -maxdepth 1 -type d) )
select DIR in ${currentDir[#]};
do
case $DIR in
*SAVE*)
printf "\n\n\e[92mDone!!\e[0m\n\n"
break
;;
*JOOMLA*)
printf "\n\e[92mApplying Joomla preset.\n"
ignoreDirs+=("./.git" "./administrator/cache" "./cache" "./images" "./logs" "./media" "./tmp" "./plugins")
findIgnorePaths+=" -not -path ./\.git\* -not -path ./administrator/cache\* -not -path ./images\* -not -path ./logs\* -not -path ./cache\* -not -path ./media\* -not -path ./plugins\* -not -path ./tmp\*"
printf "\n\n\e[31mIgnore list:\n"
for item in "${ignoreDirs[#]}"
do
printf "$item\n"
done
;;
*)
ignoreDirs+=("$DIR")
findIgnorePaths+=" -not -path ${DIR}\*"
printf "\n\n\e[31mIgnore list:\n"
for item in "${ignoreDirs[#]}"
do
printf "$item\n"
done
printf "\e[92m"
;;
esac
done
findIgnorePaths=$(echo ${findIgnorePaths} | cut -c 1-)
printf "\e[0m\n"
echo #Move to new line
printf "$seperator"
echo #Move to new line
echo "Apply 555 permissions to the below directories & all sub directories? "
printf "$seperator"
printf "\e[0;49;96m"
echo
echo "$findIgnorePaths"
echo
find ./ -maxdepth 1 -type d -not -path ./\.git\* -not -path ./administrator/cache\* -not -path ./images\* -not -path ./logs\* -not -path ./cache\* -not -path ./media\* -not -path ./plugins\* -not -path ./tmp\*
echo
find ./ -maxdepth 1 -type d ${findIgnorePaths}
echo
printf "\e[0m\n"
printf "$seperator"
read -r -p "Y/n " response
echo #Move to new line
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]
then
find ./ -type d $findIgnorePaths -exec chmod 555 {} +
printf "\e[92mChanged directory permissions to 555\e[0m\n\n"
else
printf "\e[31mSkipping this step. No directory permissions were set.\e[0m\n\n"
fi
read -r -p "Apply 444 permissions to all files in; ${PWD##*/}? Y/n " response
echo #Move to new line
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]
then
find ./ -type f $findIgnorePaths -exec chmod 444 {} +
printf "\e[92mChanged file permissions to 444\e[0m\n\n"
else
printf "\e[31mSkipping this step. No file permissions were set.\e[0m\n\n"
fi
printf "\n\e[92mFinished!\e[0m\n\n"

Answer 1

This is Bash FAQ 50, which advises you to use an array variable to pass parameters to programs:
findIgnorePaths=(-not -path './.git*' -not -path './administrator/cache*' -not -path './images*' -not -path './logs*' -not -path './cache*' -not -path './media*' -not -path './plugins*' -not -path './tmp*')
find ./ -type d "${findIgnorePaths[#]}"
Note directory globs are single quoted so they aren't interpreted by the shell when the variable is created. Your backslash escapes were doing the same thing; it's a matter of personal preference which one you find easier to read.
Running scripts through shellcheck.net is always a good idea to find any problems that might be lurking.
Also, /bin/sh is not /bin/bash, so fix your shebang!