find - search for files in a directory hierarchy
find [path...] [expression]
This manual page documents the GNU version of find. find searches the
directory tree rooted at each given file name by evaluating the given
expression from left to right, according to the rules of precedence
(see section OPERATORS), until the outcome is known (the left hand side
is false for and operations, true for or), at which point find moves on
to the next file name.
The first argument that begins with `-', `(', `)', `,', or `!' is taken
to be the beginning of the expression; any arguments before it are
paths to search, and any arguments after it are the rest of the expression.
If no paths are given, the current directory is used. If no
expression is given, the expression `-print' is used.
find exits with status 0 if all files are processed successfully,
greater than 0 if errors occur.
The expression is made up of options (which affect overall operation
rather than the processing of a specific file, and always return true),
tests (which return a true or false value), and actions (which have
side effects and return a true or false value), all separated by operators.
-and is assumed where the operator is omitted. If the expression
contains no actions other than -prune, -print is performed on all
files for which the expression is true.
OPTIONS [Toc] [Back]
All options always return true. They always take effect, rather than
being processed only when their place in the expression is reached.
Therefore, for clarity, it is best to place them at the beginning of
the expression.
-daystart
Measure times (for -amin, -atime, -cmin, -ctime, -mmin, and
-mtime) from the beginning of today rather than from 24 hours
ago.
-depth Process each directory's contents before the directory itself.
-follow
Dereference symbolic links. Implies -noleaf.
-help, --help
Print a summary of the command-line usage of find and exit.
-maxdepth levels
Descend at most levels (a non-negative integer) levels of directories
below the command line arguments. `-maxdepth 0' means
only apply the tests and actions to the command line arguments.
-mindepth levels
Do not apply any tests or actions at levels less than levels (a
non-negative integer). `-mindepth 1' means process all files
except the command line arguments.
-mount Don't descend directories on other filesystems. An alternate
name for -xdev, for compatibility with some other versions of
find.
-noleaf
Do not optimize by assuming that directories contain 2 fewer
subdirectories than their hard link count. This option is
needed when searching filesystems that do not follow the Unix
directory-link convention, such as CD-ROM or MS-DOS filesystems
or AFS volume mount points. Each directory on a normal Unix
filesystem has at least 2 hard links: its name and its `.'
entry. Additionally, its subdirectories (if any) each have a
`..' entry linked to that directory. When find is examining a
directory, after it has statted 2 fewer subdirectories than the
directory's link count, it knows that the rest of the entries in
the directory are non-directories (`leaf' files in the directory
tree). If only the files' names need to be examined, there is
no need to stat them; this gives a significant increase in
search speed.
-version, --version
Print the find version number and exit.
-xdev Don't descend directories on other filesystems.
TESTS [Toc] [Back]
Numeric arguments can be specified as
+n for greater than n,
-n for less than n,
n for exactly n.
-amin n
File was last accessed n minutes ago.
-anewer file
File was last accessed more recently than file was modified.
-anewer is affected by -follow only if -follow comes before
-anewer on the command line.
-atime n
File was last accessed n*24 hours ago.
-cmin n
File's status was last changed n minutes ago.
-cnewer file
File's status was last changed more recently than file was modified.
-cnewer is affected by -follow only if -follow comes
before -cnewer on the command line.
-ctime n
File's status was last changed n*24 hours ago.
-empty File is empty and is either a regular file or a directory.
-false Always false.
-fstype type
File is on a filesystem of type type. The valid filesystem
types vary among different versions of Unix; an incomplete list
of filesystem types that are accepted on some version of Unix or
another is: ufs, 4.2, 4.3, nfs, tmp, mfs, S51K, S52K. You can
use -printf with the %F directive to see the types of your
filesystems.
-gid n File's numeric group ID is n.
-group gname
File belongs to group gname (numeric group ID allowed).
-ilname pattern
Like -lname, but the match is case insensitive.
-iname pattern
Like -name, but the match is case insensitive. For example, the
patterns `fo*' and `F??' match the file names `Foo', `FOO',
`foo', `fOo', etc.
-inum n
File has inode number n.
-ipath pattern
Like -path, but the match is case insensitive.
-iregex pattern
Like -regex, but the match is case insensitive.
-links n
File has n links.
-lname pattern
File is a symbolic link whose contents match shell pattern pat-
tern. The metacharacters do not treat `/' or `.' specially.
-mmin n
File's data was last modified n minutes ago.
-mtime n
File's data was last modified n*24 hours ago.
-name pattern
Base of file name (the path with the leading directories
removed) matches shell pattern pattern. The metacharacters
(`*', `?', and `[]') do not match a `.' at the start of the base
name. To ignore a directory and the files under it, use -prune;
see an example in the description of -path.
-newer file
File was modified more recently than file. -newer is affected
by -follow only if -follow comes before -newer on the command
line.
-nouser
No user corresponds to file's numeric user ID.
-nogroup
No group corresponds to file's numeric group ID.
-path pattern
File name matches shell pattern pattern. The metacharacters do
not treat `/' or `.' specially; so, for example,
find . -path './sr*sc'
will print an entry for a directory called './src/misc' (if one
exists). To ignore a whole directory tree, use -prune rather
than checking every file in the tree. For example, to skip the
directory `src/emacs' and all files and directories under it,
and print the names of the other files found, do something like
this:
find . -path './src/emacs' -prune -o -print
-perm mode
File's permission bits are exactly mode (octal or symbolic).
Symbolic modes use mode 0 as a point of departure.
-perm -mode
All of the permission bits mode are set for the file.
-perm +mode
Any of the permission bits mode are set for the file.
-regex pattern
File name matches regular expression pattern. This is a match
on the whole path, not a search. For example, to match a file
named `./fubar3', you can use the regular expression `.*bar.' or
`.*b.*3', but not `b.*r3'.
-size n[bckw]
File uses n units of space. The units are 512-byte blocks by
default or if `b' follows n, bytes if `c' follows n, kilobytes
if `k' follows n, or 2-byte words if `w' follows n. The size
does not count indirect blocks, but it does count blocks in
sparse files that are not actually allocated.
-true Always true.
-type c
File is of type c:
b block (buffered) special
c character (unbuffered) special
d directory
p named pipe (FIFO)
f regular file
l symbolic link
s socket
D door (Solaris)
-uid n File's numeric user ID is n.
-used n
File was last accessed n days after its status was last changed.
-user uname
File is owned by user uname (numeric user ID allowed).
-xtype c
The same as -type unless the file is a symbolic link. For symbolic
links: if -follow has not been given, true if the file is
a link to a file of type c; if -follow has been given, true if c
is `l'. In other words, for symbolic links, -xtype checks the
type of the file that -type does not check.
ACTIONS [Toc] [Back]
-exec command ;
Execute command; true if 0 status is returned. All following
arguments to find are taken to be arguments to the command until
an argument consisting of `;' is encountered. The string `{}'
is replaced by the current file name being processed everywhere
it occurs in the arguments to the command, not just in arguments
where it is alone, as in some versions of find. Both of these
constructions might need to be escaped (with a `\') or quoted to
protect them from expansion by the shell. The command is executed
in the starting directory.
-fls file
True; like -ls but write to file like -fprint.
-fprint file
True; print the full file name into file file. If file does not
exist when find is run, it is created; if it does exist, it is
truncated. The file names ``/dev/stdout'' and ``/dev/stderr''
are handled specially; they refer to the standard output and
standard error output, respectively.
-fprint0 file
True; like -print0 but write to file like -fprint.
-fprintf file format
True; like -printf but write to file like -fprint.
-ok command ;
Like -exec but ask the user first (on the standard input); if
the response does not start with `y' or `Y', do not run the command,
and return false.
-print True; print the full file name on the standard output, followed
by a newline.
-print0
True; print the full file name on the standard output, followed
by a null character. This allows file names that contain newlines
to be correctly interpreted by programs that process the
find output.
-printf format
True; print format on the standard output, interpreting `\'
escapes and `%' directives. Field widths and precisions can be
specified as with the `printf' C function. Unlike -print,
-printf does not add a newline at the end of the string. The
escapes and directives are:
\a Alarm bell.
\b Backspace.
\c Stop printing from this format immediately and flush the
output.
\f Form feed.
\n Newline.
\r Carriage return.
\t Horizontal tab.
\v Vertical tab.
\\ A literal backslash (`\').
A `\' character followed by any other character is treated as an
ordinary character, so they both are printed.
%% A literal percent sign.
%a File's last access time in the format returned by the C
`ctime' function.
%Ak File's last access time in the format specified by k,
which is either `@' or a directive for the C `strftime'
function. The possible values for k are listed below;
some of them might not be available on all systems, due
to differences in `strftime' between systems.
@ seconds since Jan. 1, 1970, 00:00 GMT.
Time fields:
H hour (00..23)
I hour (01..12)
k hour ( 0..23)
l hour ( 1..12)
M minute (00..59)
p locale's AM or PM
r time, 12-hour (hh:mm:ss [AP]M)
S second (00..61)
T time, 24-hour (hh:mm:ss)
X locale's time representation (H:M:S)
Z time zone (e.g., EDT), or nothing if no time zone
is determinable
Date fields:
a locale's abbreviated weekday name (Sun..Sat)
A locale's full weekday name, variable length (Sunday..Saturday)
b locale's abbreviated month name (Jan..Dec)
B locale's full month name, variable length (January..December)
c locale's date and time (Sat Nov 04 12:02:33 EST
1989)
d day of month (01..31)
D date (mm/dd/yy)
h same as b
j day of year (001..366)
m month (01..12)
U week number of year with Sunday as first day of
week (00..53)
w day of week (0..6)
W week number of year with Monday as first day of
week (00..53)
x locale's date representation (mm/dd/yy)
y last two digits of year (00..99)
Y year (1970...)
%b File's size in 512-byte blocks (rounded up).
%c File's last status change time in the format returned by
the C `ctime' function.
%Ck File's last status change time in the format specified by
k, which is the same as for %A.
%d File's depth in the directory tree; 0 means the file is a
command line argument.
%f File's name with any leading directories removed (only
the last element).
%F Type of the filesystem the file is on; this value can be
used for -fstype.
%g File's group name, or numeric group ID if the group has
no name.
%G File's numeric group ID.
%h Leading directories of file's name (all but the last element).
%H Command line argument under which file was found.
%i File's inode number (in decimal).
%k File's size in 1K blocks (rounded up).
%l Object of symbolic link (empty string if file is not a
symbolic link).
%m File's permission bits (in octal).
%n Number of hard links to file.
%p File's name.
%P File's name with the name of the command line argument
under which it was found removed.
%s File's size in bytes.
%t File's last modification time in the format returned by
the C `ctime' function.
%Tk File's last modification time in the format specified by
k, which is the same as for %A.
%u File's user name, or numeric user ID if the user has no
name.
%U File's numeric user ID.
A `%' character followed by any other character is discarded
(but the other character is printed).
-prune If -depth is not given, true; do not descend the current directory.
If -depth is given, false; no effect.
-ls True; list current file in `ls -dils' format on standard output.
The block counts are of 1K blocks, unless the environment variable
POSIXLY_CORRECT is set, in which case 512-byte blocks are
used.
OPERATORS [Toc] [Back]
Listed in order of decreasing precedence:
( expr )
Force precedence.
! expr True if expr is false.
-not expr
Same as ! expr.
expr1 expr2
And (implied); expr2 is not evaluated if expr1 is false.
expr1 -a expr2
Same as expr1 expr2.
expr1 -and expr2
Same as expr1 expr2.
expr1 -o expr2
Or; expr2 is not evaluated if expr1 is true.
expr1 -or expr2
Same as expr1 -o expr2.
expr1 , expr2
List; both expr1 and expr2 are always evaluated. The value of
expr1 is discarded; the value of the list is the value of expr2.
locate(1L), locatedb(5L), updatedb(1L), xargs(1L) Finding Files (online
in Info, or printed)
FIND(1L)
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