{"id":59102,"date":"2023-08-24T15:01:22","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T07:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=59102"},"modified":"2023-08-24T17:00:49","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T09:00:49","slug":"linux-command-find","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/linux-command-find\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Find Files and Folders in Linux"},"content":{"rendered":"

The find<\/code> command is used to search and locate files and directories based on specified conditions such as file name, size, modification date, and other attributes. You can use it to search through your entire file system or within a specific directory.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s commonly used by system administrators and regular users to quickly locate files, especially in systems with a large number of files. Whether you\u2019re looking for a lost document or need to perform bulk operations on a set of files that meet certain criteria, the find<\/code> command can be an essential tool in managing and organizing your file system.<\/p>\n

General syntax for find<\/code> command:<\/p>\n

\r\n$ find [OPTIONS] [PATH...] [EXPRESSION]\r\n<\/pre>\n
\n
1. Search for specific file in a directory<\/h3>\n
find .\/ExampleDir -name example.txt <\/pre>\n
With the -name<\/code> parameter, this command will attempt to search for a example.txt<\/code> within the ExampleDir<\/code> directory; and if found, will return path to the file.<\/p>\n
.\/ExampleDir\/subdir1\/example.txt\r\n.\/ExampleDir\/subdir2\/subsubdir\/example.txt\r\n<\/pre>\n
\n
2. Find and list files of same extension<\/h3>\n
find .\/dirname -name *.txt<\/pre>\n
This command will search, within the ExampleDir<\/code> directory, all files ending with the extension .txt<\/code>. If found, each result will be returned in a new line.<\/p>\n
.\/dirname\/file1.txt\r\n.\/dirname\/file2.txt\r\n.\/dirname\/subdir\/file3.txt\r\n.\/dirname\/subdir\/another_subdir\/file4.txt\r\n<\/pre>\n
\n
3. Find and list empty files and empty sub-directories<\/h3>\n
find .\/ExampleDir -empty<\/pre>\n
This command, with the -empty<\/code> parameter, will find and list all empty files<\/em> and empty sub-folders<\/em> inside the ExampleDir<\/code> folder.<\/p>\n
Definition of empty file<\/em> being 0 bytes filesize, and empty folder<\/em> being no files or files with 0 bytes.<\/p>\n
\n
4. Find and list files that contain specific text<\/h3>\n
find .\/ExampleDir -type f -name \"*.txt\" -exec grep 'Example'  {} \\;<\/pre>\n
This command searches for the word\/string \"Example<\/strong>\" inside files with the extension .txt<\/code> inside ExampleDir<\/code> dierctory.<\/p>\n
.\/ExampleDir\/file1.txt:This is an Example line in file1.\r\n.\/ExampleDir\/subdir\/file2.txt:Another Example in a different file.\r\n.\/ExampleDir\/file3.txt:Example usage of the find command.\r\n<\/pre>\n
\n
5. Find and list files and sub-directories own by specific user<\/h3>\n
find .\/ExampleDir -user ubuntu<\/pre>\n
This command, with the -user<\/code> parameter, will find files and sub-directories owned by Ubuntu<\/code> user in ExampleDir<\/code> directory. If found, the filename(s) will be returned.<\/p>\n
In the following sample ls -l<\/code> result:<\/p>\n
-rw-rw-r-- 1 newone ubuntu 20 Jan 27 06:24 example.txt<\/pre>\n
newone<\/code> represents group<\/strong> name, and ubuntu<\/code> is the user<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
\n
6. Find and list files and sub-directories own by specific group<\/h3>\n
find .\/ExampleDir -group ubuntu<\/pre>\n
This command, with the -group<\/code> paramter, will find all files and sub-directories owned by Ubuntu<\/code> group in ExampleDir<\/code> directory. If found, the filename(s) will be returned.<\/p>\n
\n
More Linux commands:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Directory Operations<\/td>\nrmdir<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 cd<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 pwd<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 exa<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 ls<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
File Operations<\/td>\ncat<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 cp<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 dd<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 less<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 touch<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 ln<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 rename<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 more<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 head<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
File System Operations<\/td>\nchown<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 mkfs<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 locate<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Networking<\/td>\nping<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 curl<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 wget<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 iptables<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 mtr<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Search and Text Processing<\/td>\nfind<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 grep<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 sed<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 whatis<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 ripgrep<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 fd<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 tldr<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
System Information and Management<\/td>\nenv<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 history<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 top<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 who<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 htop<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 glances<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 lsof<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
User and Session Management<\/td>\nscreen<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 su<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 sudo<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 open<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Master the Linux find command to effortlessly locate files and manage your system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3397],"tags":[888,3316],"topic":[],"class_list":["entry-content","is-maxi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Find Files and Folders in Linux - Hongkiat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Master the Linux find command to effortlessly locate files and manage your system.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/linux-command-find\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Find Files and Folders in Linux\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Master the Linux find command to effortlessly locate files and manage your system.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/linux-command-find\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hongkiatcom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-24T07:01:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-24T09:00:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hongkiat.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hongkiat.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-find\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-find\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hongkiat.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc686597d92f9086729e4bcc1577ba3\"},\"headline\":\"How to Find Files and Folders in Linux\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-24T07:01:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-24T09:00:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-find\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":323,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Linux\",\"Linux Commands\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Desktop\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-find\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-find\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Find Files and Folders in Linux - 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