102-the-find-command.md

The find command

The find command lets you search for files in a directory hierarchy

• Search a file with specific name.
• Search a file with pattern
• Search for empty files and directories.

Examples:

1. Search a file with specific name:

find ./directory1 -name sample.txt

2. Search a file with pattern:

find ./directory1 -name '*.txt' 

3. To find all directories whose name is test in / directory.

find / -type d -name test

4. Searching empty files in current directory

find . -size 0k

Syntax:

find [options] [paths] [expression]

In Simple words

find [where to start searching from]
 [expression determines what to find] [-options] [what to find]

Additional Flags and their Functionalities:

Commonly-used primaries include:

• name pattern - tests whether the file name matches the shell-glob pattern given.
• type type - tests whether the file is a given type. Unix file types accepted include:

options	Description
b	block device (buffered)
d	directory
f	regular file
l	Symbolic link
-print	always returns true; prints the name of the current file plus a newline to the stdout.
-mtime n	find's all the files which are modified n days back.
-atime n	find's all the files which are accessed 50 days back.
-cmin n	find's all the files which are modified in the last 1 hour.
-newer file	find's file was modified more recently than file.
-size n	File uses n units of space, rounding up.

Help Command

Run below command to view the complete guide to find command or click here.

man find