get_file_list.pl

get_file_list.pl queries the STAR File Catalog to find data files and build the file lists you feed to your analysis (or to the Data Carousel).

Full reference: File Catalog user manual

Syntax

get_file_list.pl -keys 'path,filename' -cond 'storage=XX,filetype=XX,filename~XX,production=XX,trgsetupname=XX' -limit NN -distinct -delim '/'

• -cond — what to select (see the table below). Use ~ for a substring match (filename~st_physics) and != to exclude (storage!=hpss). Keys are case-insensitive.
• -keys — what to print for each match (see Output).
• -distinct — drop duplicate rows.
• -limit NN — cap the number of results; -limit 0 returns all files.
• -delim '/' — join the printed fields with / instead of the default ::.

What to select (-cond)

Key	Selects	Where to find values
storage	local (/home/starlib/…), NFS (/star/dataXX/…), or HPSS (/home/starreco/reco/…)	—
filetype	daq_reco_event (DST), daq_reco_muDst (MuDst), daq_reco_picoDst (PicoDst)	PicoDst format
filename	filename substring, e.g. filename~st_physics	—
production / library	production tag / software library	production options
trgsetupname	trigger setup	data summary · production

What to print (-keys)

For a plain file list, use -keys 'path,filename' -delim '/'.

To see where the data lives and how big it is, add more fields, e.g. -keys 'fdid,storage,site,node,path,filename,events':

• storage — local, NFS, or HPSS (handy to know if a file is still on tape)
• site, node — where the file physically sits
• events — event count, useful to check before you restore from tape
• fdid — file descriptor ID

Most common query

Find PicoDst files on disk (not tape):

get_file_list.pl -keys 'path,filename' \
-cond 'storage!=hpss,filetype=daq_reco_picoDst,filename~st_physics,production=P12id,trgsetupname=pp200_production_2012' \
-limit 10 -distinct -delim '/'

Use storage=local to search only the distributed disks.

More examples

get_file_list.pl -keys 'path,filename'\
-cond 'storage=hpss,filetype=daq_reco_muDst,filename~st_physics,production=P11id,trgsetupname=AuAu19_production'\
-limit 10 -distinct -delim '/'

get_file_list.pl -keys path,filename \
-cond storage=local,trgsetupname=production_pp200trans_2015,filetype=daq_reco_mudst,filename~st_fms_16 \
-delim '/'

get_file_list.pl -keys 'fdid,storage,site,node,path,filename,events' \
-cond 'trgsetupname=AuAu19_production, filetype=daq_reco_MuDst, filename~st_physics, storage!=hpss' \
-limit 60 -delim '/'

get_file_list.pl -keys 'path,filename' \
-cond 'production=P11id,filetype=daq_reco_MuDst,trgsetupname=AuAu19_production,tpx=1,filename~st_physics,sanity=1,storage!=HPSS' \
-limit 60 -delim '/'

Tips

• Check disk first, tape last. Query with storage!=hpss and only fall back to storage=hpss if nothing comes back — no point restoring a file that’s already on disk. (The catalog searches local → NFS → HPSS in that order anyway.)
• /home/starlib/… is distributed disk (DD). You can’t browse it, but root can open the files using the prefix root://xrdstar.rcf.bnl.gov:1095/.
• /home/starreco/reco/… is HPSS tape. Those files can’t be opened until you restore them — see below.

Restoring files from HPSS

Once you have the HPSS paths, restore them through the Data Carousel — that page has the full hpss_user.pl walkthrough and request-list formats. Never pull MuDst straight off tape with hsi/htar; see HPSS (Tape) for why. The short version:

1. Find the files with get_file_list.pl and storage=hpss.
2. Pick a good run in the STAR RunLog Browser.
3. Check event counts first by adding events to -keys (e.g. -keys 'path,filename,events').
4. Make a target directory on your local or PWG disk.
5. Submit the request: hpss_user.pl HPSSFilePath/ TargetFilePath/ (hpss_user.pl -h lists all options).
6. Track it on the accounting page; restored files land in your target directory.