Mastering Linux Find Command Options | Generated by AI

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The find command is one of the most powerful tools in Unix/Linux for searching files and directories. Here’s a thorough guide to its options and capabilities.

Basic Syntax

find [path...] [expression]

Starting Points and Paths

You can specify one or more starting directories:

find /home /var /tmp -name "*.log"    # Search multiple directories
find . -name "file.txt"                # Current directory
find / -name "config"                  # Entire filesystem

Tests and Filters

Name-based searches:

• -name pattern - Case-sensitive name match (supports wildcards)
• -iname pattern - Case-insensitive name match
• -path pattern - Match full path
• -ipath pattern - Case-insensitive path match
• -regex pattern - Match path with regular expression
• -iregex pattern - Case-insensitive regex

find . -name "*.txt"
find . -iname "README*"
find . -regex ".*\.(jpg|png|gif)"

Type-based searches:

• -type f - Regular files
• -type d - Directories
• -type l - Symbolic links
• -type b - Block devices
• -type c - Character devices
• -type p - Named pipes (FIFOs)
• -type s - Sockets

find /var -type d -name "log*"
find . -type f -name "*.sh"

Size-based searches:

• -size n[cwbkMG] - File size (c=bytes, w=2-byte words, b=512-byte blocks, k=KB, M=MB, G=GB)
• Use + for greater than, - for less than, no prefix for exact

find . -size +100M              # Larger than 100MB
find . -size -1k                # Smaller than 1KB
find /var/log -size +50M -size -100M  # Between 50-100MB

Time-based searches:

• -mtime n - Modified n days ago
• -atime n - Accessed n days ago
• -ctime n - Status changed n days ago
• -mmin n - Modified n minutes ago
• -amin n - Accessed n minutes ago
• -cmin n - Status changed n minutes ago
• -newer file - Modified more recently than file
• -newerXY reference - More flexible time comparisons

find . -mtime -7                # Modified in last 7 days
find . -mtime +30               # Modified more than 30 days ago
find . -mmin -60                # Modified in last hour
find . -newer reference.txt     # Newer than reference.txt

Permission-based searches:

• -perm mode - Exact permission match
• -perm -mode - All specified bits are set
• -perm /mode - Any specified bits are set

find . -perm 644                # Exactly 644
find . -perm -644               # At least 644
find /bin -perm /u+s,g+s        # SUID or SGID set

Ownership searches:

• -user name - Owned by user
• -group name - Owned by group
• -uid n - Owned by user ID
• -gid n - Owned by group ID
• -nouser - No valid user owner
• -nogroup - No valid group owner

find /home -user john
find . -nouser                  # Find orphaned files

Depth control:

• -maxdepth n - Descend at most n levels
• -mindepth n - Don’t search above n levels
• -depth - Process directory contents before the directory itself

find . -maxdepth 2 -name "*.txt"
find . -mindepth 3 -type f

Other useful tests:

• -empty - Empty files or directories
• -executable - Executable files
• -readable - Readable files
• -writable - Writable files
• -links n - Files with n hard links
• -inum n - Files with inode number n
• -samefile name - Files referring to the same inode

find . -empty -type d           # Empty directories
find /usr/bin -executable -type f

Logical Operators

Combine tests with logical operators:

• -a or -and - AND (default if omitted)
• -o or -or - OR
• -not or ! - NOT
• ( expression ) - Grouping (escape parentheses in shell)

find . -name "*.txt" -o -name "*.md"
find . -type f -not -name "*.log"
find . \\( -name "*.c" -o -name "*.h" \\) -a -mtime -7

Actions

Display actions:

• -print - Print full path (default)
• -print0 - Print with null separator (safe for xargs -0)
• -printf format - Custom format output
• -ls - List in ls -dils format
• -fls file - Like -ls but write to file

find . -name "*.txt" -print0
find . -printf "%p\t%s bytes\n"

Execution actions:

• -exec command {} \; - Execute command for each file
• -exec command {} + - Execute command with multiple files
• -execdir command {} \; - Execute from file’s directory
• -ok command {} \; - Like -exec but asks for confirmation

find . -name "*.tmp" -exec rm {} \;
find . -type f -exec chmod 644 {} +
find . -name "*.jpg" -execdir convert {} {}.png \;

Deletion:

• -delete - Delete matched files (be careful!)

find . -name "*.bak" -delete
find . -type f -empty -delete

Other actions:

• -quit - Exit immediately after first match
• -prune - Don’t descend into directory

find . -name ".git" -prune -o -type f -print

Practical Examples

# Find large files in home directory
find ~ -type f -size +500M -exec ls -lh {} \;

# Find and archive old log files
find /var/log -name "*.log" -mtime +90 -exec gzip {} \;

# Find broken symbolic links
find . -type l ! -exec test -e {} \; -print

# Find files modified today
find . -type f -mtime 0

# Find world-writable files (security check)
find / -perm -002 -type f 2>/dev/null

# Find setuid files (security audit)
find / -perm -4000 -type f 2>/dev/null

# Count files by extension
find . -type f | sed 's/.*\.//' | sort | uniq -c

# Find duplicate filenames
find . -type f -printf "%f\n" | sort | uniq -d

# Clean up temporary files
find /tmp -type f -atime +7 -user $(whoami) -delete

Performance Tips

• Put most restrictive tests first
• Use -maxdepth early to limit searching
• Use -prune to skip directories
• Use -print0 with xargs -0 for filenames with spaces
• Redirect stderr to avoid permission errors: 2>/dev/null

The find command is incredibly flexible and can be combined with other Unix tools through pipes and command substitution to create powerful file management workflows.

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