find

Linux · Files · available in the simulator

What it does

Searches for files in a directory hierarchy based on various criteria. Supports logical operators with -a (and), -o (or), and ! (not).

Syntax

find [ruta...] [expresión]

Options and parameters

• -name

  Searches by file name (case-sensitive).

  find . -name "*.log"
• -iname

  Searches by file name (case-insensitive).

• -path/-ipath

  matches against full path

• -size

  Filters by size; +10M matches files greater than 10 megabytes.

  find . -size +10M
• -type

  Filters by type: f for regular file, d for directory, l for symbolic link.

  find /etc -type f
• -user/-group

  filters by owner/group

• -amin/-mmin/-cmin

  accessed/modified/changed in minutes

• -atime/-mtime/-ctime

  accessed/modified/changed in days

• -exec ... {} \;

  executes a command for each file

• -exec ... {} +

  executes the command with all files combined

• -mtime

  Filters by days since last modification.

  find . -mtime -7
• -mmin

  Filters by minutes since last modification.

• -user

  Filters by file owner.

• -perm

  Filters by file permissions.

• -maxdepth

  Limits the directory depth searched.

  find . -maxdepth 1 -type d
• -delete

  Deletes found files.

• -exec

  Executes a command for each matched file; terminated by \;.

  find . -name "*.tmp" -exec rm {} \;
• -print0

  Separates results with a null character; useful with xargs -0.

Usage examples

• find /dev -amin -30
• find /home/smr1 -size +10M
• find /etc -size +100k -a -size -1M
• find /home/smr1 -name "*documento*.docx"
• find /home/smr1 -ipath "*Linux*"
• find /boot -user root
• find /home/smr1/sistemas -type f
• find /home/smr1 -type f -size +0 -exec du -h {} \;
• find /home/smr1 -type f -size +0 -exec du -h {} +
• find . -name '*.log'
• find /tmp -type f -mtime +7 -delete
• find . -name "*.log"
• find /etc -type f
• find . -size +10M
• find . -mtime -7
• find . -maxdepth 1 -type d
• find . -name "*.tmp" -exec rm {} \;

Related commands

• bzip2
• cmp
• cp
• file
• gzip
• ln