Find Command Guide - ryzendew/Linux-Tips-and-Tricks GitHub Wiki

Find Command Troubleshooting for Beginners

Table of Contents

  1. :pencil: What is find?
  2. :zap: Basic Commands
  3. :mag: Finding by Name
  4. :file_folder: Finding by Type
  1. :chart_with_upwards_trend: Finding by Size
  1. :calendar: Finding by Time
  1. :lock: Finding by Permissions
  1. :mag_right: Combining Criteria
  1. :wrench: Actions on Found Files
  1. :bulb: Common Troubleshooting Scenarios
  1. :keyboard: Quick Reference
  1. :warning: Important Safety Tips
  2. Summary

:pencil: What is find?

  • find searches for files and directories in the filesystem
  • One of the most powerful and commonly used Linux commands
  • Can search by name, size, type, permissions, date, and more
  • Essential for locating files and troubleshooting

What find can do:

  • Find files by name (exact or pattern)
  • Search by file size
  • Find files by type (file, directory, etc.)
  • Search by modification/access time
  • Find files by permissions
  • Execute commands on found files
  • Combine multiple search criteria

:zap: Basic Commands

Basic Find (Current Directory)

find .

What this does:

  • Searches current directory (.) and all subdirectories
  • Shows all files and directories
  • Very long output (usually combined with other options)

Find in Specific Directory

find /path/to/directory

What this does:

  • Searches specified directory and all subdirectories
  • Recursive search (includes all subdirectories)

Example:

find /home

Limit Search Depth

find /path -maxdepth 2

What this does:

  • Limits search to specified depth levels
  • -maxdepth 1 = only the specified directory
  • -maxdepth 2 = directory and one level of subdirectories

Example:

find /home -maxdepth 1

Shows only items directly in /home, not subdirectories.

:mag: Finding by Name

Find Files by Exact Name

find /path -name "filename"

What this does:

  • Finds files/directories with exact name
  • Case-sensitive
  • Use quotes around the name

Example:

find . -name "Home.md"

Find Files by Pattern (Wildcards)

find /path -name "*.txt"

What this does:

  • Finds files matching pattern
  • * matches any characters
  • ? matches single character

Common patterns:

  • *.txt - All .txt files
  • file* - Files starting with "file"
  • *.log - All log files
  • test?.txt - test1.txt, test2.txt, etc.

Example:

find . -name "*.md"

Finds all Markdown files.

Case-Insensitive Name Search

find /path -iname "filename"

What this does:

  • Case-insensitive name search
  • -iname instead of -name
  • Useful when you're not sure of exact case

Example:

find . -iname "home.md"

Finds "Home.md", "home.md", "HOME.md", etc.

:file_folder: Finding by Type

Find Only Files

find /path -type f

What this does:

  • Finds only files (not directories)
  • -type f = files only

Find Only Directories

find /path -type d

What this does:

  • Finds only directories
  • -type d = directories only

Example:

find /home -maxdepth 1 -type d

Other File Types

find /path -type l    # Symbolic links
find /path -type s    # Sockets
find /path -type p    # Named pipes

:chart_with_upwards_trend: Finding by Size

Find Files Larger Than Size

find /path -size +100M

What this does:

  • Finds files larger than specified size
  • + means "larger than"
  • Size units: c (bytes), k (KB), M (MB), G (GB)

Size units:

  • c - Bytes
  • k - Kilobytes (1024 bytes)
  • M - Megabytes (1024 KB)
  • G - Gigabytes (1024 MB)

Examples:

find /home -size +1G      # Files larger than 1GB
find /home -size +100M    # Files larger than 100MB
find /home -size +1k      # Files larger than 1KB

Find Files Smaller Than Size

find /path -size -100M

What this does:

  • Finds files smaller than specified size
  • - means "smaller than"

Example:

find . -size -1k

Finds files smaller than 1KB.

Find Files of Exact Size

find /path -size 100M

What this does:

  • Finds files of exactly specified size
  • No + or - means exact match (within rounding)

:calendar: Finding by Time

Find Files Modified in Last N Days

find /path -mtime -7

What this does:

  • Finds files modified in last 7 days
  • -mtime = modification time
  • -7 = within last 7 days
  • +7 = more than 7 days ago
  • 7 = exactly 7 days ago

Examples:

find /home -mtime -1     # Modified in last 24 hours
find /home -mtime -7     # Modified in last week
find /home -mtime -30    # Modified in last month
find /home -mtime +30    # Modified more than 30 days ago

Find Files Accessed in Last N Days

find /path -atime -7

What this does:

  • Finds files accessed in last 7 days
  • -atime = access time
  • Same syntax as -mtime

Find Files Changed in Last N Minutes

find /path -mmin -60

What this does:

  • Finds files modified in last 60 minutes
  • -mmin = modification time in minutes
  • More precise than -mtime

Examples:

find . -mmin -30    # Modified in last 30 minutes
find . -mmin -60    # Modified in last hour
find . -mmin +1440  # Modified more than 24 hours ago

:lock: Finding by Permissions

Find Files with Specific Permissions

find /path -perm 644

What this does:

  • Finds files with exact permissions
  • 644 = rw-r--r-- (read/write for owner, read for others)

Common permissions:

  • 644 - Regular files (rw-r--r--)
  • 755 - Executable files/directories (rwxr-xr-x)
  • 600 - Private files (rw-------)

Find Executable Files

find /path -executable

What this does:

  • Finds files with execute permission
  • Useful for finding scripts and programs

Find Readable Files

find /path -readable

What this does:

  • Finds files readable by current user
  • Based on actual permissions, not just file mode

:mag_right: Combining Criteria

Find Files Matching Multiple Criteria

find /path -name "*.txt" -type f -size +1M

What this does:

  • Finds .txt files larger than 1MB
  • Multiple criteria are ANDed together (all must match)

Find Files Matching Any Criteria (OR)

find /path \( -name "*.txt" -o -name "*.log" \)

What this does:

  • Finds files matching either pattern
  • -o = OR operator
  • Parentheses and backslashes required

Example:

find . \( -name "*.md" -o -name "*.txt" \)

Finds both .md and .txt files.

Negate Criteria (NOT)

find /path ! -name "*.tmp"

What this does:

  • Finds files NOT matching the pattern
  • ! = NOT operator

Example:

find . -type f ! -name "*.md"

Finds all files except .md files.

:wrench: Actions on Found Files

Print Found Files (Default)

find /path -name "*.txt" -print

What this does:

  • Prints found files (this is the default action)
  • -print is usually optional

List Files with Details

find /path -name "*.txt" -ls

What this does:

  • Lists files with detailed information
  • Similar to ls -l output
  • Shows permissions, size, date, etc.

Execute Command on Found Files

find /path -name "*.txt" -exec command {} \;

What this does:

  • Executes command on each found file
  • {} is replaced with filename
  • \; ends the command

Example:

find . -name "*.txt" -exec wc -l {} \;

Counts lines in each .txt file.

Important: Be very careful with -exec! Test with -print first.

Delete Found Files (DANGEROUS!)

find /path -name "*.tmp" -delete

What this does:

  • DELETES found files
  • VERY DANGEROUS - test first with -print!
  • No confirmation, files are permanently deleted

Always test first:

# First, see what would be deleted:
find /path -name "*.tmp" -print

# Then, if correct, delete:
find /path -name "*.tmp" -delete

:bulb: Common Troubleshooting Scenarios

Scenario 1: Find Large Files

Problem: Need to find files taking up space.

Solution:

find /home -type f -size +100M

Finds files larger than 100MB.

Sort by size:

find /home -type f -size +100M -exec ls -lh {} \; | sort -k5 -hr

Scenario 2: Find Recently Modified Files

Problem: Need to find files changed recently.

Solution:

find /path -type f -mtime -1

Finds files modified in last 24 hours.

Scenario 3: Find Files by Extension

Problem: Need all files of a specific type.

Solution:

find /path -type f -name "*.extension"

Example:

find . -type f -name "*.log"

Scenario 4: Find Empty Files/Directories

Problem: Need to find empty files or directories.

Solution:

find /path -type f -empty    # Empty files
find /path -type d -empty    # Empty directories

Scenario 5: Find Files by Owner

Problem: Need files owned by specific user.

Solution:

find /path -user username

Example:

find /home -user matt

Scenario 6: Find and Count Files

Problem: Need to count matching files.

Solution:

find /path -name "*.txt" | wc -l

Counts number of .txt files.

Scenario 7: Find Files and Exclude Directories

Problem: Need to search but exclude certain directories.

Solution:

find /path -path /path/exclude -prune -o -name "*.txt" -print

Example:

find /home -path /home/.cache -prune -o -name "*.txt" -print

Excludes .cache directory from search.

:keyboard: Quick Reference

Basic Commands

find .                        # Current directory
find /path                    # Specific path
find /path -maxdepth 2       # Limit depth

Finding by Name

find /path -name "file"      # Exact name
find /path -name "*.txt"     # Pattern
find /path -iname "file"     # Case-insensitive

Finding by Type

find /path -type f           # Files only
find /path -type d           # Directories only

Finding by Size

find /path -size +100M       # Larger than 100MB
find /path -size -1k         # Smaller than 1KB

Finding by Time

find /path -mtime -7         # Modified in last week
find /path -mmin -60         # Modified in last hour
find /path -atime -1         # Accessed today

Finding by Permissions

find /path -perm 644         # Specific permissions
find /path -executable       # Executable files
find /path -readable         # Readable files

Combining Criteria

find /path -name "*.txt" -type f -size +1M
find /path \( -name "*.txt" -o -name "*.log" \)
find /path ! -name "*.tmp"

Actions

find /path -name "*.txt" -print    # Print (default)
find /path -name "*.txt" -ls       # List with details
find /path -name "*.txt" -exec cmd {} \;  # Execute command

:warning: Important Safety Tips

  1. Always test with -print first before using -delete or -exec
  2. Use quotes around patterns with wildcards
  3. Limit search scope with -maxdepth to avoid long searches
  4. Be careful with -delete - it permanently deletes files!
  5. Test -exec commands on a small set first
  6. Use 2>/dev/null to suppress permission denied errors: 
    find /path -name "*.txt" 2>/dev/null

Summary

This guide covered:

  1. Basic Usage:
  • Searching directories
  • Limiting depth
  1. Finding by Name:
  • Exact names and patterns
  • Case-insensitive search
  1. Finding by Type:
  • Files, directories, links
  1. Finding by Size:
  • Larger/smaller than, exact size
  1. Finding by Time:
  • Modification and access time
  • Days and minutes
  1. Finding by Permissions:
  • Specific permissions
  • Executable/readable files
  1. Combining Criteria:
  • AND, OR, NOT operators
  1. Actions:
  • Print, list, execute, delete

Next Steps:

  • Practice with safe searches first
  • Combine with other commands (grep, ls, etc.)
  • Learn to use -exec carefully
  • Master pattern matching with wildcards

For text searching in files, see the Grep Command Guide. For file permissions, see the File Permissions Guide.