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FIND(1) General Commands Manual FIND(1)
NNAAMMEE
find - search for files in a directory hierarchy
SSYYNNOOPPSSIISS
ffiinndd [-H] [-L] [-P] [-D debugopts] [-Olevel] [path...] [expression]
DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN
This manual page documents the GNU version of ffiinndd. GNU ffiinndd 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 _a_n_d operations, true for _o_r), at which point ffiinndd moves on to the next file name.
If you are using ffiinndd in an environment where security is important (for example if you are using it to search directories that are writable by other users), you should read the "Security Considerations" chapter of the findu‐
tils documentation, which is called FFiinnddiinngg FFiilleess and comes with findutils. That document also includes a lot more detail and discussion than this manual page, so you may find it a more useful source of information.
OOPPTTIIOONNSS
The --HH, --LL and --PP options control the treatment of symbolic links. Command-line arguments following these are taken to be names of files or directories to be examined, up to the first argument that begins with `-', or the
argument `(' or `!'. That argument and any following arguments are taken to be the expression describing what is to be searched for. If no paths are given, the current directory is used. If no expression is given, the
expression --pprriinntt is used (but you should probably consider using --pprriinntt00 instead, anyway).
This manual page talks about `options' within the expression list. These options control the behaviour of ffiinndd but are specified immediately after the last path name. The five `real' options --HH, --LL, --PP, --DD and --OO must
appear before the first path name, if at all. A double dash ---- can also be used to signal that any remaining arguments are not options (though ensuring that all start points begin with either `./' or `/' is generally safer
if you use wildcards in the list of start points).
-P Never follow symbolic links. This is the default behaviour. When ffiinndd examines or prints information a file, and the file is a symbolic link, the information used shall be taken from the properties of the symbolic
link itself.
-L Follow symbolic links. When ffiinndd examines or prints information about files, the information used shall be taken from the properties of the file to which the link points, not from the link itself (unless it is a bro‐
ken symbolic link or ffiinndd is unable to examine the file to which the link points). Use of this option implies --nnoolleeaaff. If you later use the --PP option, --nnoolleeaaff will still be in effect. If --LL is in effect and ffiinndd
discovers a symbolic link to a subdirectory during its search, the subdirectory pointed to by the symbolic link will be searched.
When the --LL option is in effect, the --ttyyppee predicate will always match against the type of the file that a symbolic link points to rather than the link itself (unless the symbolic link is broken). Using --LL causes the
--llnnaammee and --iillnnaammee predicates always to return false.
-H Do not follow symbolic links, except while processing the command line arguments. When ffiinndd examines or prints information about files, the information used shall be taken from the properties of the symbolic link
itself. The only exception to this behaviour is when a file specified on the command line is a symbolic link, and the link can be resolved. For that situation, the information used is taken from whatever the link
points to (that is, the link is followed). The information about the link itself is used as a fallback if the file pointed to by the symbolic link cannot be examined. If --HH is in effect and one of the paths specified
on the command line is a symbolic link to a directory, the contents of that directory will be examined (though of course -maxdepth 0 would prevent this).
If more than one of --HH, --LL and --PP is specified, each overrides the others; the last one appearing on the command line takes effect. Since it is the default, the --PP option should be considered to be in effect unless either --HH
or --LL is specified.
GNU ffiinndd frequently stats files during the processing of the command line itself, before any searching has begun. These options also affect how those arguments are processed. Specifically, there are a number of tests that
compare files listed on the command line against a file we are currently considering. In each case, the file specified on the command line will have been examined and some of its properties will have been saved. If the
named file is in fact a symbolic link, and the --PP option is in effect (or if neither --HH nor --LL were specified), the information used for the comparison will be taken from the properties of the symbolic link. Otherwise, it
will be taken from the properties of the file the link points to. If ffiinndd cannot follow the link (for example because it has insufficient privileges or the link points to a nonexistent file) the properties of the link itself
will be used.
When the --HH or --LL ooppttiioonnss aarree iinn eeffffeecctt,, aannyy ssyymmbboolliicc lliinnkkss lliisstteedd as the argument of --nneewweerr will be dereferenced, and the timestamp will be taken from the file to which the symbolic link points. The same consideration
applies to --nneewweerrXXYY, --aanneewweerr and --ccnneewweerr.
The --ffoollllooww option has a similar effect to --LL, though it takes effect at the point where it appears (that is, if --LL is not used but --ffoollllooww is, any symbolic links appearing after --ffoollllooww on the command line will be derefer‐
enced, and those before it will not).
-D debugoptions
Print diagnostic information; this can be helpful to diagnose problems with why ffiinndd is not doing what you want. The list of debug options should be comma separated. Compatibility of the debug options is not guaran‐
teed between releases of findutils. For a complete list of valid debug options, see the output of ffiinndd --DD hheellpp. Valid debug options include
help Explain the debugging options
tree Show the expression tree in its original and optimised form.
stat Print messages as files are examined with the ssttaatt and llssttaatt system calls. The ffiinndd program tries to minimise such calls.
opt Prints diagnostic information relating to the optimisation of the expression tree; see the -O option.
rates Prints a summary indicating how often each predicate succeeded or failed.
-Olevel
Enables query optimisation. The ffiinndd program reorders tests to speed up execution while preserving the overall effect; that is, predicates with side effects are not reordered relative to each other. The optimisa‐
tions performed at each optimisation level are as follows.
0 Equivalent to optimisation level 1.
1 This is the default optimisation level and corresponds to the traditional behaviour. Expressions are reordered so that tests based only on the names of files (for example --nnaammee and --rreeggeexx) are performed first.
2 Any --ttyyppee or --xxttyyppee tests are performed after any tests based only on the names of files, but before any tests that require information from the inode. On many modern versions of Unix, file types are returned
by rreeaaddddiirr(()) and so these predicates are faster to evaluate than predicates which need to stat the file first.
3 At this optimisation level, the full cost-based query optimiser is enabled. The order of tests is modified so that cheap (i.e. fast) tests are performed first and more expensive ones are performed later, if
necessary. Within each cost band, predicates are evaluated earlier or later according to whether they are likely to succeed or not. For --oo, predicates which are likely to succeed are evaluated earlier, and for
--aa, predicates which are likely to fail are evaluated earlier.
The cost-based optimiser has a fixed idea of how likely any given test is to succeed. In some cases the probability takes account of the specific nature of the test (for example, --ttyyppee ff is assumed to be more likely
to succeed than --ttyyppee cc). The cost-based optimiser is currently being evaluated. If it does not actually improve the performance of ffiinndd, it will be removed again. Conversely, optimisations that prove to be reli‐
able, robust and effective may be enabled at lower optimisation levels over time. However, the default behaviour (i.e. optimisation level 1) will not be changed in the 4.3.x release series. The findutils test suite
runs all the tests on ffiinndd at each optimisation level and ensures that the result is the same.
EEXXPPRREESSSSIIOONNSS
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. --aanndd is assumed where the operator is omitted.
If the expression contains no actions other than --pprruunnee, --pprriinntt is performed on all files for which the expression is true.
OOPPTTIIOONNSS
All options always return true. Except for --ddaayyssttaarrtt, --ffoollllooww and --rreeggeexxttyyppee, the options affect all tests, including tests specified before the option. This is because the options are processed when the command line is
parsed, while the tests don't do anything until files are examined. The --ddaayyssttaarrtt, --ffoollllooww and --rreeggeexxttyyppee options are different in this respect, and have an effect only on tests which appear later in the command line.
Therefore, for clarity, it is best to place them at the beginning of the expression. A warning is issued if you don't do this.
-d A synonym for -depth, for compatibility with FreeBSD, NetBSD, MacOS X and OpenBSD.
-daystart
Measure times (for --aammiinn, --aattiimmee, --ccmmiinn, --ccttiimmee, --mmmmiinn, and --mmttiimmee) from the beginning of today rather than from 24 hours ago. This option only affects tests which appear later on the command line.
-depth Process each directory's contents before the directory itself. The -delete action also implies --ddeepptthh.
-follow
Deprecated; use the --LL option instead. Dereference symbolic links. Implies --nnoolleeaaff. The --ffoollllooww option affects only those tests which appear after it on the command line. Unless the --HH or --LL option has been speci‐
fied, the position of the --ffoollllooww option changes the behaviour of the --nneewweerr predicate; any files listed as the argument of --nneewweerr will be dereferenced if they are symbolic links. The same consideration applies to
--nneewweerrXXYY, --aanneewweerr and --ccnneewweerr. Similarly, the --ttyyppee predicate will always match against the type of the file that a symbolic link points to rather than the link itself. Using --ffoollllooww causes the --llnnaammee aanndd --iillnnaammee
predicates always to return false.
-help, --help
Print a summary of the command-line usage of ffiinndd and exit.
-ignore_readdir_race
Normally, ffiinndd will emit an error message when it fails to stat a file. If you give this option and a file is deleted between the time ffiinndd reads the name of the file from the directory and the time it tries to stat
the file, no error message will be issued. This also applies to files or directories whose names are given on the command line. This option takes effect at the time the command line is read, which means that you
cannot search one part of the filesystem with this option on and part of it with this option off (if you need to do that, you will need to issue two ffiinndd commands instead, one with the option and one without it).
-maxdepth _l_e_v_e_l_s
Descend at most _l_e_v_e_l_s (a non-negative integer) levels of directories below the command line arguments. --mmaaxxddeepptthh 00
means only apply the tests and actions to the command line arguments.
-mindepth _l_e_v_e_l_s
Do not apply any tests or actions at levels less than _l_e_v_e_l_s (a non-negative integer). --mmiinnddeepptthh 11 means process all files except the command line arguments.
-mount Don't descend directories on other filesystems. An alternate name for --xxddeevv, for compatibility with some other versions of ffiinndd.
-noignore_readdir_race
Turns off the effect of --iiggnnoorree__rreeaaddddiirr__rraaccee.
-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 ffiinndd 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-directo‐
ries (`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.
-regextype _t_y_p_e
Changes the regular expression syntax understood by --rreeggeexx and --iirreeggeexx tests which occur later on the command line. Currently-implemented types are emacs (this is the default), posix-awk, posix-basic, posix-egrep and
posix-extended.
-version, --version
Print the ffiinndd version number and exit.
-warn, -nowarn
Turn warning messages on or off. These warnings apply only to the command line usage, not to any conditions that ffiinndd might encounter when it searches directories. The default behaviour corresponds to --wwaarrnn if stan‐
dard input is a tty, and to --nnoowwaarrnn otherwise.
-xdev Don't descend directories on other filesystems.
TTEESSTTSS
Some tests, for example --nneewweerrXXYY and --ssaammeeffiillee, allow comparison between the file currently being examined and some reference file specified on the command line. When these tests are used, the interpretation of the reference
file is determined by the options --HH, --LL and --PP and any previous --ffoollllooww, but the reference file is only examined once, at the time the command line is parsed. If the reference file cannot be examined (for example, the
ssttaatt(2) system call fails for it), an error message is issued, and ffiinndd exits with a nonzero status.
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 _f_i_l_e
File was last accessed more recently than _f_i_l_e was modified. If _f_i_l_e is a symbolic link and the --HH option or the --LL option is in effect, the access time of the file it points to is always used.
-atime _n
File was last accessed _n*24 hours ago. When find figures out how many 24-hour periods ago the file was last accessed, any fractional part is ignored, so to match --aattiimmee ++11, a file has to have been accessed at least
_t_w_o days ago.
-cmin _n
File's status was last changed _n minutes ago.
-cnewer _f_i_l_e
File's status was last changed more recently than _f_i_l_e was modified. If _f_i_l_e is a symbolic link and the --HH option or the --LL option is in effect, the status-change time of the file it points to is always used.
-ctime _n
File's status was last changed _n*24 hours ago. See the comments for --aattiimmee to understand how rounding affects the interpretation of file status change times.
-empty File is empty and is either a regular file or a directory.
-executable
Matches files which are executable and directories which are searchable (in a file name resolution sense). This takes into account access control lists and other permissions artefacts which the --ppeerrmm test ignores.
This test makes use of the aacccceessss(2) system call, and so can be fooled by NFS servers which do UID mapping (or root-squashing), since many systems implement aacccceessss(2) in the client's kernel and so cannot make use of
the UID mapping information held on the server. Because this test is based only on the result of the aacccceessss(2) system call, there is no guarantee that a file for which this test succeeds can actually be executed.
-false Always false.
-fstype _t_y_p_e
File is on a filesystem of type _t_y_p_e. 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 --pprriinnttff with the %F directive to see the types of your filesystems.
-gid _n File's numeric group ID is _n.
-group _g_n_a_m_e
File belongs to group _g_n_a_m_e (numeric group ID allowed).
-ilname _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
Like --llnnaammee, but the match is case insensitive. If the --LL option or the --ffoollllooww option is in effect, this test returns false unless the symbolic link is broken.
-iname _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
Like --nnaammee, but the match is case insensitive. For example, the patterns `fo*' and `F??' match the file names `Foo', `FOO', `foo', `fOo', etc. In these patterns, unlike filename expansion by the shell, an initial
'.' can be matched by `*'. That is, ffiinndd --nnaammee **bbaarr will match the file `.foobar'. Please note that you should quote patterns as a matter of course, otherwise the shell will expand any wildcard characters in them.
-inum _n
File has inode number _n. It is normally easier to use the --ssaammeeffiillee test instead.
-ipath _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
Behaves in the same way as --iiwwhhoolleennaammee. This option is deprecated, so please do not use it.
-iregex _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
Like --rreeggeexx, but the match is case insensitive.
-iwholename _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
Like --wwhhoolleennaammee, but the match is case insensitive.
-links _n
File has _n links.
-lname _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
File is a symbolic link whose contents match shell pattern _p_a_t_t_e_r_n. The metacharacters do not treat `/' or `.' specially. If the --LL option or the --ffoollllooww option is in effect, this test returns false unless the sym‐
bolic link is broken.
-mmin _n
File's data was last modified _n minutes ago.
-mtime _n
File's data was last modified _n*24 hours ago. See the comments for --aattiimmee to understand how rounding affects the interpretation of file modification times.
-name _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
Base of file name (the path with the leading directories removed) matches shell pattern _p_a_t_t_e_r_n. The metacharacters (`*', `?', and `[]') match a `.' at the start of the base name (this is a change in findutils-4.2.2;
see section STANDARDS CONFORMANCE below). To ignore a directory and the files under it, use --pprruunnee; see an example in the description of --ppaatthh. Braces are not recognised as being special, despite the fact that some
shells including Bash imbue braces with a special meaning in shell patterns. The filename matching is performed with the use of the ffnnmmaattcchh(3) library function. Don't forget to enclose the pattern in quotes in order
to protect it from expansion by the shell.
-newer _f_i_l_e
File was modified more recently than _f_i_l_e. If _f_i_l_e is a symbolic link and the --HH option or the --LL option is in effect, the modification time of the file it points to is always used.
-newerXY _r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e
Compares the timestamp of the current file with _r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e. The _r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e argument is normally the name of a file (and one of its timestamps is used for the comparison) but it may also be a string describing an abso‐
lute time. _X and _Y are placeholders for other letters, and these letters select which time belonging to how _r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e is used for the comparison.
a The access time of the file _r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e
B The birth time of the file _r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e
c The inode status change time of _r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e
m The modification time of the file _r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e
t _r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e is interpreted directly as a time
Some combinations are invalid; for example, it is invalid for _X to be _t. Some combinations are not implemented on all systems; for example _B is not supported on all systems. If an invalid or unsupported combination
of _X_Y is specified, a fatal error results. Time specifications are interpreted as for the argument to the --dd option of GNU ddaattee. If you try to use the birth time of a reference file, and the birth time cannot be
determined, a fatal error message results. If you specify a test which refers to the birth time of files being examined, this test will fail for any files where the birth time is unknown.
-nogroup
No group corresponds to file's numeric group ID.
-nouser
No user corresponds to file's numeric user ID.
-path _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
File name matches shell pattern _p_a_t_t_e_r_n. 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 --pprruunnee 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
Note that the pattern match test applies to the whole file name, starting from one of the start points named on the command line. It would only make sense to use an absolute path name here if the relevant start point
is also an absolute path. This means that this command will never match anything:
find bar -path /foo/bar/myfile -print
The predicate --ppaatthh is also supported by HP-UX ffiinndd and will be in a forthcoming version of the POSIX standard.
-perm _m_o_d_e
File's permission bits are exactly _m_o_d_e (octal or symbolic). Since an exact match is required, if you want to use this form for symbolic modes, you may have to specify a rather complex mode string. For example --ppeerrmm
gg==ww will only match files which have mode 0020 (that is, ones for which group write permission is the only permission set). It is more likely that you will want to use the `/' or `-' forms, for example --ppeerrmm --gg==ww,
which matches any file with group write permission. See the EEXXAAMMPPLLEESS section for some illustrative examples.
-perm -_m_o_d_e
All of the permission bits _m_o_d_e are set for the file. Symbolic modes are accepted in this form, and this is usually the way in which would want to use them. You must specify `u', `g' or `o' if you use a symbolic
mode. See the EEXXAAMMPPLLEESS section for some illustrative examples.
-perm /_m_o_d_e
Any of the permission bits _m_o_d_e are set for the file. Symbolic modes are accepted in this form. You must specify `u', `g' or `o' if you use a symbolic mode. See the EEXXAAMMPPLLEESS section for some illustrative examples.
If no permission bits in _m_o_d_e are set, this test matches any file (the idea here is to be consistent with the behaviour of --ppeerrmm --000000).
-perm +_m_o_d_e
Deprecated, old way of searching for files with any of the permission bits in _m_o_d_e set. You should use --ppeerrmm _/_m_o_d_e instead. Trying to use the `+' syntax with symbolic modes will yield surprising results. For example,
`+u+x' is a valid symbolic mode (equivalent to +u,+x, i.e. 0111) and will therefore not be evaluated as --ppeerrmm ++_m_o_d_e but instead as the exact mode specifier --ppeerrmm _m_o_d_e and so it matches files with exact permissions 0111
instead of files with any execute bit set. If you found this paragraph confusing, you're not alone - just use --ppeerrmm //_m_o_d_e. This form of the --ppeerrmm test is deprecated because the POSIX specification requires the inter‐
pretation of a leading `+' as being part of a symbolic mode, and so we switched to using `/' instead.
-readable
Matches files which are readable. This takes into account access control lists and other permissions artefacts which the --ppeerrmm test ignores. This test makes use of the aacccceessss(2) system call, and so can be fooled by
NFS servers which do UID mapping (or root-squashing), since many systems implement aacccceessss(2) in the client's kernel and so cannot make use of the UID mapping information held on the server.
-regex _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
File name matches regular expression _p_a_t_t_e_r_n. 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 `f.*r3'.
The regular expressions understood by ffiinndd are by default Emacs Regular Expressions, but this can be changed with the --rreeggeexxttyyppee option.
-samefile _n_a_m_e
File refers to the same inode as _n_a_m_e. When --LL is in effect, this can include symbolic links.
-size _n[cwbkMG]
File uses _n units of space. The following suffixes can be used:
`b' for 512-byte blocks (this is the default if no suffix is used)
`c' for bytes
`w' for two-byte words
`k' for Kilobytes (units of 1024 bytes)
`M' for Megabytes (units of 1048576 bytes)
`G' for Gigabytes (units of 1073741824 bytes)
The size does not count indirect blocks, but it does count blocks in sparse files that are not actually allocated. Bear in mind that the `%k' and `%b' format specifiers of --pprriinnttff handle sparse files differently. The
`b' suffix always denotes 512-byte blocks and never 1 Kilobyte blocks, which is different to the behaviour of --llss.
-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; this is never true if the --LL option or the --ffoollllooww option is in effect, unless the symbolic link is broken. If you want to search for symbolic links when --LL is in effect, use --xxttyyppee.
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 _u_n_a_m_e
File is owned by user _u_n_a_m_e (numeric user ID allowed).
-wholename _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
See -path. This alternative is less portable than --ppaatthh.
-writable
Matches files which are writable. This takes into account access control lists and other permissions artefacts which the --ppeerrmm test ignores. This test makes use of the aacccceessss(2) system call, and so can be fooled by
NFS servers which do UID mapping (or root-squashing), since many systems implement aacccceessss(2) in the client's kernel and so cannot make use of the UID mapping information held on the server.
-xtype _c
The same as --ttyyppee unless the file is a symbolic link. For symbolic links: if the --HH or --PP option was specified, true if the file is a link to a file of type _c; if the --LL option has been given, true if _c is `l'. In
other words, for symbolic links, --xxttyyppee checks the type of the file that --ttyyppee does not check.
AACCTTIIOONNSS
-delete
Delete files; true if removal succeeded. If the removal failed, an error message is issued. If --ddeelleettee fails, ffiinndd's exit status will be nonzero (when it eventually exits). Use of --ddeelleettee automatically turns on the
--ddeepptthh option.
WWaarrnniinnggss: Don't forget that the find command line is evaluated as an expression, so putting --ddeelleettee first will make ffiinndd try to delete everything below the starting points you specified. When testing a ffiinndd command
line that you later intend to use with --ddeelleettee, you should explicitly specify --ddeepptthh in order to avoid later surprises. Because --ddeelleettee implies --ddeepptthh, you cannot usefully use --pprruunnee and --ddeelleettee together.
-exec _c_o_m_m_a_n_d ;
Execute _c_o_m_m_a_n_d; true if 0 status is returned. All following arguments to ffiinndd 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 ffiinndd. Both of these constructions might need to be escaped (with a `\')
or quoted to protect them from expansion by the shell. See the EEXXAAMMPPLLEESS section for examples of the use of the --eexxeecc option. The specified command is run once for each matched file. The command is executed in the
starting directory. There are unavoidable security problems surrounding use of the --eexxeecc action; you should use the --eexxeeccddiirr option instead.
-exec _c_o_m_m_a_n_d {} +
This variant of the --eexxeecc action runs the specified command on the selected files, but the command line is built by appending each selected file name at the end; the total number of invocations of the command will be
much less than the number of matched files. The command line is built in much the same way that xxaarrggss builds its command lines. Only one instance of `{}' is allowed within the command. The command is executed in the
starting directory.
-execdir _c_o_m_m_a_n_d ;
-execdir _c_o_m_m_a_n_d {} +
Like --eexxeecc, but the specified command is run from the subdirectory containing the matched file, which is not normally the directory in which you started ffiinndd. This a much more secure method for invoking commands, as
it avoids race conditions during resolution of the paths to the matched files. As with the --eexxeecc action, the `+' form of --eexxeeccddiirr will build a command line to process more than one matched file, but any given invoca‐
tion of _c_o_m_m_a_n_d will only list files that exist in the same subdirectory. If you use this option, you must ensure that your $$PPAATTHH environment variable does not reference `.'; otherwise, an attacker can run any com‐
mands they like by leaving an appropriately-named file in a directory in which you will run --eexxeeccddiirr. The same applies to having entries in $$PPAATTHH which are empty or which are not absolute directory names.
-fls _f_i_l_e
True; like --llss but write to _f_i_l_e like --ffpprriinntt. The output file is always created, even if the predicate is never matched. See the UUNNUUSSUUAALL FFIILLEENNAAMMEESS section for information about how unusual characters in filenames
are handled.
-fprint _f_i_l_e
True; print the full file name into file _f_i_l_e. If _f_i_l_e does not exist when ffiinndd 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. The output file is always created, even if the predicate is never matched. See the UUNNUUSSUUAALL FFIILLEENNAAMMEESS section for information about how unusual
characters in filenames are handled.
-fprint0 _f_i_l_e
True; like --pprriinntt00 but write to _f_i_l_e like --ffpprriinntt. The output file is always created, even if the predicate is never matched. See the UUNNUUSSUUAALL FFIILLEENNAAMMEESS section for information about how unusual characters in file‐
names are handled.
-fprintf _f_i_l_e _f_o_r_m_a_t
True; like --pprriinnttff but write to _f_i_l_e like --ffpprriinntt. The output file is always created, even if the predicate is never matched. See the UUNNUUSSUUAALL FFIILLEENNAAMMEESS section for information about how unusual characters in file‐
names are handled.
-ls True; list current file in llss --ddiillss 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. See the UUNNUUSSUUAALL FFIILLEE‐‐
NNAAMMEESS section for information about how unusual characters in filenames are handled.
-ok _c_o_m_m_a_n_d ;
Like --eexxeecc but ask the user first. If the user agrees, run the command. Otherwise just return false. If the command is run, its standard input is redirected from //ddeevv//nnuullll.
The response to the prompt is matched against a pair of regular expressions to determine if it is an affirmative or negative response. This regular expression is obtained from the system if the `POSIXLY_CORRECT' envi‐
ronment variable is set, or otherwise from ffiinndd's message translations. If the system has no suitable definition, ffiinndd's own definition will be used. In either case, the interpretation of the regular expression
itself will be affected by the environment variables 'LC_CTYPE' (character classes) and 'LC_COLLATE' (character ranges and equivalence classes).
-okdir _c_o_m_m_a_n_d ;
Like --eexxeeccddiirr but ask the user first in the same way as for --ookk. If the user does not agree, just return false. If the command is run, its standard input is redirected from //ddeevv//nnuullll.
-print True; print the full file name on the standard output, followed by a newline. If you are piping the output of ffiinndd into another program and there is the faintest possibility that the files which you are searching for
might contain a newline, then you should seriously consider using the --pprriinntt00 option instead of --pprriinntt. See the UUNNUUSSUUAALL FFIILLEENNAAMMEESS section for information about how unusual characters in filenames are handled.
-print0
True; print the full file name on the standard output, followed by a null character (instead of the newline character that --pprriinntt uses). This allows file names that contain newlines or other types of white space to be
correctly interpreted by programs that process the ffiinndd output. This option corresponds to the --00 option of xxaarrggss.
-printf _f_o_r_m_a_t
True; print _f_o_r_m_a_t on the standard output, interpreting `\' escapes and `%' directives. Field widths and precisions can be specified as with the `printf' C function. Please note that many of the fields are printed as
%s rather than %d, and this may mean that flags don't work as you might expect. This also means that the `-' flag does work (it forces fields to be left-aligned). Unlike --pprriinntt, --pprriinnttff 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.
\0 ASCII NUL.
\\ A literal backslash (`\').
\NNN The character whose ASCII code is NNN (octal).
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.
%A_k 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, with fractional part.
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 (00.00 .. 61.00). There is a fractional part.
T time, 24-hour (hh:mm:ss)
+ Date and time, separated by `+', for example `2004-04-28+22:22:05.0'. This is a GNU extension. The time is given in the current timezone (which may be affected by setting the TZ environment variable).
The seconds field includes a fractional part.
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). The format is the same as for ccttiimmee(3) and so to preserve compatibility with that format, there is no fractional part in the seconds field.
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 The amount of disk space used for this file in 512-byte blocks. Since disk space is allocated in multiples of the filesystem block size this is usually greater than %s/512, but it can also be smaller if the file
is a sparse file.
%c File's last status change time in the format returned by the C `ctime' function.
%C_k 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.
%D The device number on which the file exists (the st_dev field of struct stat), in decimal.
%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). If the file name contains no slashes (since it is in the current directory) the %h specifier expands to ".".
%H Command line argument under which file was found.
%i File's inode number (in decimal).
%k The amount of disk space used for this file in 1K blocks. Since disk space is allocated in multiples of the filesystem block size this is usually greater than %s/1024, but it can also be smaller if the file is a
sparse file.
%l Object of symbolic link (empty string if file is not a symbolic link).
%m File's permission bits (in octal). This option uses the `traditional' numbers which most Unix implementations use, but if your particular implementation uses an unusual ordering of octal permissions bits, you
will see a difference between the actual value of the file's mode and the output of %m. Normally you will want to have a leading zero on this number, and to do this, you should use the ## flag (as in, for exam‐
ple, `%#m').
%M File's permissions (in symbolic form, as for llss). This directive is supported in findutils 4.2.5 and later.
%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.
%S File's sparseness. This is calculated as (BLOCKSIZE*st_blocks / st_size). The exact value you will get for an ordinary file of a certain length is system-dependent. However, normally sparse files will have
values less than 1.0, and files which use indirect blocks may have a value which is greater than 1.0. The value used for BLOCKSIZE is system-dependent, but is usually 512 bytes. If the file size is zero, the
value printed is undefined. On systems which lack support for st_blocks, a file's sparseness is assumed to be 1.0.
%t File's last modification time in the format returned by the C `ctime' function.
%T_k 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.
%y File's type (like in llss --ll), U=unknown type (shouldn't happen)
%Y File's type (like %y), plus follow symlinks: L=loop, N=nonexistent
A `%' character followed by any other character is discarded, but the other character is printed (don't rely on this, as further format characters may be introduced). A `%' at the end of the format argument causes
undefined behaviour since there is no following character. In some locales, it may hide your door keys, while in others it may remove the final page from the novel you are reading.
The %m and %d directives support the ## , 00 and ++ flags, but the other directives do not, even if they print numbers. Numeric directives that do not support these flags include GG, UU, bb, DD, kk and nn. The `-' format flag
is supported and changes the alignment of a field from right-justified (which is the default) to left-justified.
See the UUNNUUSSUUAALL FFIILLEENNAAMMEESS section for information about how unusual characters in filenames are handled.
-prune True; if the file is a directory, do not descend into it. If --ddeepptthh is given, false; no effect. Because --ddeelleettee implies --ddeepptthh, you cannot usefully use --pprruunnee and --ddeelleettee ttooggeetthheerr..
-quit Exit immediately. No child processes will be left running, but no more paths specified on the command line will be processed. For example, ffiinndd //ttmmpp//ffoooo //ttmmpp//bbaarr --pprriinntt --qquuiitt will print only //ttmmpp//ffoooo. Any command
lines which have been built up with --eexxeeccddiirr ...... {{}} ++ will be invoked before ffiinndd exits. The exit status may or may not be zero, depending on whether an error has already occurred.
UUNNUUSSUUAALL FFIILLEENNAAMMEESS
Many of the actions of ffiinndd result in the printing of data which is under the control of other users. This includes file names, sizes, modification times and so forth. File names are a potential problem since they can con‐
tain any character except `\0' and `/'. Unusual characters in file names can do unexpected and often undesirable things to your terminal (for example, changing the settings of your function keys on some terminals). Unusual
characters are handled differently by various actions, as described below.
-print0, -fprint0
Always print the exact filename, unchanged, even if the output is going to a terminal.
-ls, -fls
Unusual characters are always escaped. White space, backslash, and double quote characters are printed using C-style escaping (for example `\f', `\"'). Other unusual characters are printed using an octal escape.
Other printable characters (for --llss and --ffllss these are the characters between octal 041 and 0176) are printed as-is.
-printf, -fprintf
If the output is not going to a terminal, it is printed as-is. Otherwise, the result depends on which directive is in use. The directives %D, %F, %g, %G, %H, %Y, and %y expand to values which are not under control of
files' owners, and so are printed as-is. The directives %a, %b, %c, %d, %i, %k, %m, %M, %n, %s, %t, %u and %U have values which are under the control of files' owners but which cannot be used to send arbitrary data to
the terminal, and so these are printed as-is. The directives %f, %h, %l, %p and %P are quoted. This quoting is performed in the same way as for GNU llss. This is not the same quoting mechanism as the one used for --llss
and --ffllss. If you are able to decide what format to use for the output of ffiinndd then it is normally better to use `\0' as a terminator than to use newline, as file names can contain white space and newline characters.
The setting of the `LC_CTYPE' environment variable is used to determine which characters need to be quoted.
-print, -fprint
Quoting is handled in the same way as for --pprriinnttff and --ffpprriinnttff. If you are using ffiinndd in a script or in a situation where the matched files might have arbitrary names, you should consider using --pprriinntt00 instead of
--pprriinntt.
The --ookk and --ookkddiirr actions print the current filename as-is. This may change in a future release.
OOPPEERRAATTOORRSS
Listed in order of decreasing precedence:
( _e_x_p_r )
Force precedence. Since parentheses are special to the shell, you will normally need to quote them. Many of the examples in this manual page use backslashes for this purpose: `\(...\)' instead of `(...)'.
! _e_x_p_r True if _e_x_p_r is false. This character will also usually need protection from interpretation by the shell.
-not _e_x_p_r
Same as ! _e_x_p_r, but not POSIX compliant.
_e_x_p_r_1 _e_x_p_r_2
Two expressions in a row are taken to be joined with an implied "and"; _e_x_p_r_2 is not evaluated if _e_x_p_r_1 is false.
_e_x_p_r_1 -a _e_x_p_r_2
Same as _e_x_p_r_1 _e_x_p_r_2.
_e_x_p_r_1 -and _e_x_p_r_2
Same as _e_x_p_r_1 _e_x_p_r_2, but not POSIX compliant.
_e_x_p_r_1 -o _e_x_p_r_2
Or; _e_x_p_r_2 is not evaluated if _e_x_p_r_1 is true.
_e_x_p_r_1 -or _e_x_p_r_2
Same as _e_x_p_r_1 --oo _e_x_p_r_2, but not POSIX compliant.
_e_x_p_r_1 , _e_x_p_r_2
List; both _e_x_p_r_1 and _e_x_p_r_2 are always evaluated. The value of _e_x_p_r_1 is discarded; the value of the list is the value of _e_x_p_r_2. The comma operator can be useful for searching for several different types of thing, but
traversing the filesystem hierarchy only once. The --ffpprriinnttff action can be used to list the various matched items into several different output files.
SSTTAANNDDAARRDDSS CCOONNFFOORRMMAANNCCEE
For closest compliance to the POSIX standard, you should set the POSIXLY_CORRECT environment variable. The following options are specified in the POSIX standard (IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition):
--HH This option is supported.
--LL This option is supported.
--nnaammee This option is supported, but POSIX conformance depends on the POSIX conformance of the system's ffnnmmaattcchh(3) library function. As of findutils-4.2.2, shell metacharacters (`*', `?' or `[]' for example) will match a
leading `.', because IEEE PASC interpretation 126 requires this. This is a change from previous versions of findutils.
--ttyyppee Supported. POSIX specifies `b', `c', `d', `l', `p', `f' and `s'. GNU find also supports `D', representing a Door, where the OS provides these.
--ookk Supported. Interpretation of the response is according to the "yes" and "no" patterns selected by setting the `LC_MESSAGES' environment variable. When the `POSIXLY_CORRECT' environment variable is set, these patterns
are taken system's definition of a positive (yes) or negative (no) response. See the system's documentation for nnll__llaannggiinnffoo(3), in particular YESEXPR and NOEXPR. When `POSIXLY_CORRECT' is not set, the patterns are
instead taken from ffiinndd's own message catalogue.
--nneewweerr Supported. If the file specified is a symbolic link, it is always dereferenced. This is a change from previous behaviour, which used to take the relevant time from the symbolic link; see the HISTORY section below.
--ppeerrmm Supported. If the POSIXLY_CORRECT environment variable is not set, some mode arguments (for example +a+x) which are not valid in POSIX are supported for backward-compatibility.
Other predicates
The predicates --aattiimmee, --ccttiimmee, --ddeepptthh, --ggrroouupp, --lliinnkkss, --mmttiimmee, --nnooggrroouupp, --nnoouusseerr, --pprriinntt, --pprruunnee, --ssiizzee, --uusseerr and --xxddeevv are all supported.
The POSIX standard specifies parentheses `(', `)', negation `!' and the `and' and `or' operators ( --aa, --oo).
All other options, predicates, expressions and so forth are extensions beyond the POSIX standard. Many of these extensions are not unique to GNU find, however.
The POSIX standard requires that ffiinndd detects loops:
The ffiinndd utility shall detect infinite loops; that is, entering a previously visited directory that is an ancestor of the last file encountered. When it detects an infinite loop, find shall write a diagnostic message
to standard error and shall either recover its position in the hierarchy or terminate.
GNU ffiinndd complies with these requirements. The link count of directories which contain entries which are hard links to an ancestor will often be lower than they otherwise should be. This can mean that GNU find will some‐
times optimise away the visiting of a subdirectory which is actually a link to an ancestor. Since ffiinndd does not actually enter such a subdirectory, it is allowed to avoid emitting a diagnostic message. Although this behav‐
iour may be somewhat confusing, it is unlikely that anybody actually depends on this behaviour. If the leaf optimisation has been turned off with --nnoolleeaaff, the directory entry will always be examined and the diagnostic mes‐
sage will be issued where it is appropriate. Symbolic links cannot be used to create filesystem cycles as such, but if the --LL option or the --ffoollllooww option is in use, a diagnostic message is issued when ffiinndd encounters a loop
of symbolic links. As with loops containing hard links, the leaf optimisation will often mean that ffiinndd knows that it doesn't need to call _s_t_a_t_(_) or _c_h_d_i_r_(_) on the symbolic link, so this diagnostic is frequently not neces‐
sary.
The --dd option is supported for compatibility with various BSD systems, but you should use the POSIX-compliant option --ddeepptthh instead.
The POSIXLY_CORRECT environment variable does not affect the behaviour of the --rreeggeexx or --iirreeggeexx tests because those tests aren't specified in the POSIX standard.
EENNVVIIRROONNMMEENNTT VVAARRIIAABBLLEESS
LANG Provides a default value for the internationalization variables that are unset or null.
LC_ALL If set to a non-empty string value, override the values of all the other internationalization variables.
LC_COLLATE
The POSIX standard specifies that this variable affects the pattern matching to be used for the --nnaammee option. GNU find uses the ffnnmmaattcchh(3) library function, and so support for `LC_COLLATE' depends on the system
library. This variable also affects the interpretation of the response to --ookk;; while the `LC_MESSAGES' variable selects the actual pattern used to interpret the response to --ookk, the interpretation of any bracket
expressions in the pattern will be affected by `LC_COLLATE'.
LC_CTYPE
This variable affects the treatment of character classes used in regular expressions and also with the --nnaammee test, if the system's ffnnmmaattcchh(3) library function supports this. This variable also affects the interpreta‐
tion of any character classes in the regular expressions used to interpret the response to the prompt issued by --ookk. The `LC_CTYPE' environment variable will also affect which characters are considered to be unprint‐
able when filenames are printed; see the section UNUSUAL FILENAMES.
LC_MESSAGES
Determines the locale to be used for internationalised messages. If the `POSIXLY_CORRECT' environment variable is set, this also determines the interpretation of the response to the prompt made by the --ookk action.
NLSPATH
Determines the location of the internationalisation message catalogues.
PATH Affects the directories which are searched to find the executables invoked by --eexxeecc, --eexxeeccddiirr, --ookk and --ookkddiirr.
POSIXLY_CORRECT
Determines the block size used by --llss and --ffllss. If PPOOSSIIXXLLYY__CCOORRRREECCTT is set, blocks are units of 512 bytes. Otherwise they are units of 1024 bytes.
Setting this variable also turns off warning messages (that is, implies --nnoowwaarrnn) by default, because POSIX requires that apart from the output for --ookk, all messages printed on stderr are diagnostics and must result in
a non-zero exit status.
When POSIXLY_CORRECT is not set, --ppeerrmm +zzz is treated just like --ppeerrmm /zzz if +zzz is not a valid symbolic mode. When POSIXLY_CORRECT is set, such constructs are treated as an error.
When POSIXLY_CORRECT is set, the response to the prompt made by the --ookk action is interpreted according to the system's message catalogue, as opposed to according to ffiinndd's own message translations.
TZ Affects the time zone used for some of the time-related format directives of --pprriinnttff and --ffpprriinnttff.
EEXXAAMMPPLLEESS
ffiinndd //ttmmpp --nnaammee ccoorree --ttyyppee ff --pprriinntt || xxaarrggss //bbiinn//rrmm --ff
Find files named ccoorree in or below the directory //ttmmpp and delete them. Note that this will work incorrectly if there are any filenames containing newlines, single or double quotes, or spaces.
ffiinndd //ttmmpp --nnaammee ccoorree --ttyyppee ff --pprriinntt00 || xxaarrggss --00 //bbiinn//rrmm --ff
Find files named ccoorree in or below the directory //ttmmpp and delete them, processing filenames in such a way that file or directory names containing single or double quotes, spaces or newlines are correctly handled. The --nnaammee
test comes before the --ttyyppee test in order to avoid having to call ssttaatt((22)) on every file.
ffiinndd .. --ttyyppee ff --eexxeecc ffiillee ''{{}}'' \\;;
Runs `file' on every file in or below the current directory. Notice that the braces are enclosed in single quote marks to protect them from interpretation as shell script punctuation. The semicolon is similarly protected by
the use of a backslash, though single quotes could have been used in that case also.
ffiinndd // \\
\\(( --ppeerrmm --44000000 --ffpprriinnttff //rroooott//ssuuiidd..ttxxtt %%##mm %%uu %%pp\\nn \\)) ,, \\
\\(( --ssiizzee ++110000MM --ffpprriinnttff //rroooott//bbiigg..ttxxtt %%--1100ss %%pp\\nn \\))
Traverse the filesystem just once, listing setuid files and directories into //rroooott//ssuuiidd..ttxxtt and large files into //rroooott//bbiigg..ttxxtt.
ffiinndd $$HHOOMMEE --mmttiimmee 00
Search for files in your home directory which have been modified in the last twenty-four hours. This command works this way because the time since each file was last modified is divided by 24 hours and any remainder is dis‐
carded. That means that to match --mmttiimmee 00, a file will have to have a modification in the past which is less than 24 hours ago.
ffiinndd //ssbbiinn //uussrr//ssbbiinn --eexxeeccuuttaabbllee \\!! --rreeaaddaabbllee --pprriinntt
Search for files which are executable but not readable.
ffiinndd .. --ppeerrmm 666644
Search for files which have read and write permission for their owner, and group, but which other users can read but not write to. Files which meet these criteria but have other permissions bits set (for example if someone
can execute the file) will not be matched.
ffiinndd .. --ppeerrmm --666644
Search for files which have read and write permission for their owner and group, and which other users can read, without regard to the presence of any extra permission bits (for example the executable bit). This will match a
file which has mode 0777, for example.
ffiinndd .. --ppeerrmm //222222
Search for files which are writable by somebody (their owner, or their group, or anybody else).
ffiinndd .. --ppeerrmm //222200
ffiinndd .. --ppeerrmm //uu++ww,,gg++ww
ffiinndd .. --ppeerrmm //uu==ww,,gg==ww
All three of these commands do the same thing, but the first one uses the octal representation of the file mode, and the other two use the symbolic form. These commands all search for files which are writable by either their
owner or their group. The files don't have to be writable by both the owner and group to be matched; either will do.
ffiinndd .. --ppeerrmm --222200
ffiinndd .. --ppeerrmm --gg++ww,,uu++ww
Both these commands do the same thing; search for files which are writable by both their owner and their group.
ffiinndd .. --ppeerrmm --444444 --ppeerrmm //222222 !! --ppeerrmm //111111
ffiinndd .. --ppeerrmm --aa++rr --ppeerrmm //aa++ww !! --ppeerrmm //aa++xx
These two commands both search for files that are readable for everybody ( --ppeerrmm --444444 or --ppeerrmm --aa++rr), have at least one write bit set ( --ppeerrmm //222222 or --ppeerrmm //aa++ww) but are not executable for anybody ( !! --ppeerrmm //111111 and !! --ppeerrmm
//aa++xx respectively).
ccdd //ssoouurrccee--ddiirr
ffiinndd .. --nnaammee ..ssnnaappsshhoott --pprruunnee --oo \\(( \\!! --nnaammee **~~ --pprriinntt00 \\))||
ccppiioo --ppmmdd00 //ddeesstt--ddiirr
This command copies the contents of //ssoouurrccee--ddiirr to //ddeesstt--ddiirr, but omits files and directories named ..ssnnaappsshhoott (and anything in them). It also omits files or directories whose name ends in ~~, but not their contents. The con‐
struct --pprruunnee --oo \\(( ...... --pprriinntt00 \\)) is quite common. The idea here is that the expression before --pprruunnee matches things which are to be pruned. However, the --pprruunnee action itself returns true, so the following --oo ensures that
the right hand side is evaluated only for those directories which didn't get pruned (the contents of the pruned directories are not even visited, so their contents are irrelevant). The expression on the right hand side of
the --oo is in parentheses only for clarity. It emphasises that the --pprriinntt00 action takes place only for things that didn't have --pprruunnee applied to them. Because the default `and' condition between tests binds more tightly than
--oo, this is the default anyway, but the parentheses help to show what is going on.
ffiinndd rreeppoo// --eexxeecc tteesstt --dd {{}}//..ssvvnn --oo --dd {{}}//..ggiitt --oo --dd {{}}//CCVVSS ;; \\
--pprriinntt --pprruunnee
Given the following directory of projects and their associated SCM administrative directories, perform an efficient search for the projects' roots:
rreeppoo//pprroojjeecctt11//CCVVSS
rreeppoo//ggnnuu//pprroojjeecctt22//..ssvvnn
rreeppoo//ggnnuu//pprroojjeecctt33//..ssvvnn
rreeppoo//ggnnuu//pprroojjeecctt33//ssrrcc//..ssvvnn
rreeppoo//pprroojjeecctt44//..ggiitt
In this example, --pprruunnee prevents unnecessary descent into directories that have already been discovered (for example we do not search project3/src because we already found project3/.svn), but ensures sibling directories
(project2 and project3) are found.
EEXXIITT SSTTAATTUUSS
ffiinndd exits with status 0 if all files are processed successfully, greater than 0 if errors occur. This is deliberately a very broad description, but if the return value is non-zero, you should not rely on the correctness of
the results of ffiinndd.
SSEEEE AALLSSOO
llooccaattee(1), llooccaatteeddbb(5), uuppddaatteeddbb(1), xxaarrggss(1), cchhmmoodd(1), ffnnmmaattcchh(3), rreeggeexx(7), ssttaatt(2), llssttaatt(2), llss(1), pprriinnttff(3), ssttrrffttiimmee(3), ccttiimmee(3), FFiinnddiinngg FFiilleess (on-line in Info, or printed).
HHIISSTTOORRYY
As of findutils-4.2.2, shell metacharacters (`*', `?' or `[]' for example) used in filename patterns will match a leading `.', because IEEE POSIX interpretation 126 requires this.
The syntax --ppeerrmm ++MMOODDEE was deprecated in findutils-4.2.21, in favour of --ppeerrmm //MMOODDEE. As of findutils-4.3.3, --ppeerrmm //000000 now matches all files instead of none.
Nanosecond-resolution timestamps were implemented in findutils-4.3.3.
As of findutils-4.3.11, the --ddeelleettee action sets ffiinndd's exit status to a nonzero value when it fails. However, ffiinndd will not exit immediately. Previously, ffiinndd's exit status was unaffected by the failure of --ddeelleettee.
Feature Added in Also occurs in
-newerXY 4.3.3 BSD
-D 4.3.1
-O 4.3.1
-readable 4.3.0
-writable 4.3.0
-executable 4.3.0
-regextype 4.2.24
-exec ... + 4.2.12 POSIX
-execdir 4.2.12 BSD
-okdir 4.2.12
-samefile 4.2.11
-H 4.2.5 POSIX
-L 4.2.5 POSIX
-P 4.2.5 BSD
-delete 4.2.3
-quit 4.2.3
-d 4.2.3 BSD
-wholename 4.2.0
-iwholename 4.2.0
-ignore_readdir_race 4.2.0
-fls 4.0
-ilname 3.8
-iname 3.8
-ipath 3.8
-iregex 3.8
NNOONN--BBUUGGSS
$$ ffiinndd .. --nnaammee **..cc --pprriinntt
find: paths must precede expression
Usage: find [-H] [-L] [-P] [-Olevel] [-D help|tree|search|stat|rates|opt|exec] [path...] [expression]
This happens because _*_._c has been expanded by the shell resulting in ffiinndd actually receiving a command line like this:
ffiinndd .. --nnaammee bbiiggrraamm..cc ccooddee..cc ffrrccooddee..cc llooccaattee..cc --pprriinntt