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find

find is a powerful command-line utility used to search for files and directories in a directory hierarchy based on various criteria. It can perform actions on the found items.

Basic Syntax

find [path...] [expression]

Commonly Used Options

  • -name pattern: Search for files matching the pattern.

  • -iname pattern: Search for files matching the pattern, case-insensitive.

  • -type type: Search for a specific type (e.g., f for files, d for directories).

  • -size n: Search for files of a specific size (e.g., +100M for files larger than 100MB).

  • -mtime n: Search for files modified n days ago.

  • -atime n: Search for files accessed n days ago.

  • -ctime n: Search for files changed n days ago.

  • -user name: Search for files owned by a specific user.

  • -group name: Search for files owned by a specific group.

  • -perm mode: Search for files with specific permissions.

  • -exec command {} \;: Execute a command on each found item.

  • -delete: Delete the found files.

  • -maxdepth n: Limit the search to n levels of directories.

  • -mindepth n: Start the search at n levels of directories.

Examples

Search for files named "example.txt" in the current directory and subdirectories:

find . -name 'example.txt'

Search for files named "example.txt" (case-insensitive) in the current directory and subdirectories:

find . -iname 'example.txt'

Search by Type

Search for directories named "backup":

find . -type d -name 'backup'

Search by Size

Search for files larger than 100MB:

find . -size +100M

Search by Modification Time

Search for files modified in the last 7 days:

find . -mtime -7

Search by Access Time

Search for files accessed in the last 7 days:

find . -atime -7

Search by Change Time

Search for files changed in the last 7 days:

find . -ctime -7

Search by User

Search for files owned by the user "john":

find . -user john

Search by Group

Search for files owned by the group "staff":

find . -group staff

Search by Permissions

Search for files with 755 permissions:

find . -perm 755

Execute Command on Found Items

Search for files named "example.txt" and delete them:

find . -name 'example.txt' -exec rm {} \;

Delete Found Files

Search for and delete files named "example.txt":

find . -name 'example.txt' -delete

Limit Search Depth

Search for files named "example.txt" only in the current directory (no subdirectories):

find . -maxdepth 1 -name 'example.txt'

Start Search at Specific Depth

Search for files named "example.txt" starting from the second level of directories:

find . -mindepth 2 -name 'example.txt'

Conclusion

find is a versatile tool for searching files and directories based on various criteria. Understanding its options and expressions allows for efficient and powerful file searching and manipulation directly from the command line.

Last modified: 14 December 2024
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