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Cover image for Living in the Shell #9; find (File/Directory Search) (Part 1)
Babak K. Shandiz
Babak K. Shandiz

Posted on • Originally published at babakks.github.io on

Living in the Shell #9; find (File/Directory Search) (Part 1)

find 🔍

Finds files matching given criteria.

Find by name -name/-iname

find /home/babak -name "*bash*"
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  • Finds all files/directories matching *bash* descended from /home/babak.
  • Use -iname for case-insensitive search.

Find by matching on path -path/-ipath

find ~ -path "*/config/*"
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  • Finds all files/directories that their path string include "/config/".
  • Use -ipath for case-insensitive search.

Find by RE pattern -regex/-iregex

find ~ -regextype egrep -regex '.*/(conf|config)$'
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  • Finds all files/directories that their path end with "config" or "conf".
  • Use -iregex for case-insensitive search.
  • Use -regextype egrep if you prefer grep extended RE format.

Find files (exclude directories) -type f

find ~ -type f -name "*bash*"
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Find directories -type d

find ~ -type d -name "Do*"
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Limit recursion depth -maxdepth/-mindepth

find ~ -maxdepth 2 -type f -name "*.txt"
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