The find command

The find command searches a directory tree for files that match the specified pattern. The command syntax is:

find [path...] [expression]

You must specify at least one path, but you do not have to specify an expression. If you do not specify an expression, find will print all files in the specified directories.

Common options:

-name

Specifies file name to search for. Can use regular expressions.

-type

Type of file to search for:

b

block special

c

character special

d

directory

p

named pipe (FIFO)

f

regular file

l

symbolic link

s

socket

-print

Prints file name to standard output (default).

-exec

Executes a command, substituting {} with the file name.

-xdev

Do not seach mounted file systems.

-o

Or operator.

-a

And operator.

Examples:

• Search for all files named index.html, starting in the current directory:

  find . -name index.html

• Search for all files in the include directory that end in ".h":

  find /usr/include -name "*.h"

• Search for and list all regular files and symbolic named core.

  find / \( -type f -o -type l \) -name core -ls

• Find where INT_MAX is defined in /usr/include:

  find /usr/include/ -name "*.h" -exec grep "#define *INT_MAX" {} /dev/null \;

• Search for and delete all regular files and symbolic named core.

  find / \( -type f -o -type l \) -name core -exec rm -f {} \;

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