Deleting folders in /media/username/

[wago80]

Hi, I am using kubunu 20.04 from an external usb 3.1 HDD. That means that any time I connect my kubuntu in a new pc/laptop, new folders appear under /media/myusername, depending on the hard drives or media in that computer.
Now I am trying to control that with the fstab file, forcing them to mount in a specific folder under /media/myusername instead of the alphanumeric default folder kubuntu creates.
My question is if I can safely delete the folders that had been created by the system, and no longer need, under the /media/myusername folder; without harming the system in any way.
Thank you very much for your time.

[jlittle]

Normally the directories in /media/$USER/ that are added by the system are removed by the system. I don't know how you got directories there that are not for current mounts; I suggest they shouldn't be there and deleting them is a good idea.

forcing them to mount in a specific folder under /media/myusername instead of the alphanumeric default folder kubuntu creates

If the volume has a label, that label is used in /media/$USER/, which would be simpler. The partition manager can set labels, and there's commands for various file system types.

Now I am trying to control that with the fstab file

IMO it's better to use system settings, hardware section, removable storage, removable devices to mount removable storage.

[oshunluvr]

IMO it's generally a bad idea to use system folders for custom purposes. In this case, the /media folder is a system folder used to allow root to mount a removable device (as required) but allow a logged-in and active user read-write access to it. The user folder under /media is created when you are logged in and insert a removable device and has special properties as seen here:

stuart@office:~$ sudo getfacl /media/stuart
getfacl: Removing leading '/' from absolute path names
# file: media/stuart
# owner: root
# group: root
user::rwx
user:stuart:r-x
group::---
mask::r-x
other::---

vs. my home folder:

stuart@office:~$ sudo getfacl /home/stuart/
getfacl: Removing leading '/' from absolute path names
# file: home/stuart/
# owner: stuart
# group: stuart
user::rwx
group::r-x
other::r-x

I would always recommend mounting any device in a standard location to avoid issue like left over folders and such. Use /home/<USER> to mount things you want to access exclusively and /mnt for other devices.

I agree with jlittle's advice to stick with the built-in mounting capabilities for removable devices to avoid little nagging issues such as this.

[wago80]

Thank you both for your answers.

Can we say that If these folders are empty, and none of the partitions are mounted to these folders, I can delete them?. At worst, they will be created again by the system if there are no corresponding entry in the /etc/fstab file, right?

Thanks

[oshunluvr]

Yes, they are safe to delete.

[wago80]

Thank you very much! =)