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find searches for files and directories in a directory hierarchy. Powerful tool for locating files by name, type, size, modification time, and more.

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Basic Usage

• find /path -name "pattern" - Find by name

• find . -type f - Find files only

• find . -type d - Find directories only

• find . -name "*.txt" - Find by extension

• find /path -exec command {} \; - Execute command

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Search by Name

• -name "pattern" - Exact name match

• -iname "pattern" - Case-insensitive name

• -path "pattern" - Match path

• -regex pattern - Regular expression

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Search by Type

• -type f - Files

• -type d - Directories

• -type l - Symbolic links

• -type b - Block devices

• -type c - Character devices

• -type p - Named pipes

• -type s - Sockets

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Search by Size

• -size +100M - Larger than 100MB

• -size -10k - Smaller than 10KB

• -size 50c - Exactly 50 bytes

• -empty - Empty files/directories

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Search by Time

• -mtime -7 - Modified in last 7 days

• -mtime +30 - Modified more than 30 days ago

• -atime -1 - Accessed in last 24 hours

• -ctime -2 - Changed in last 2 days

• -newer file - Newer than file

• -amin -60 - Accessed in last 60 minutes

• -mmin -30 - Modified in last 30 minutes

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Search by Permissions

• -perm 644 - Exact permissions

• -perm -u+w - User has write

• -perm /o+x - Others have execute

• -user username - Owned by user

• -group groupname - Owned by group

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Actions

• -print - Print results (default)

• -ls - List like ls -dils

• -delete - Delete found files

• -exec command {} \; - Execute command

• -exec command {} + - Execute with multiple files

• -ok command {} \; - Interactive exec

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Common Examples

Find by Name

find . -name "*.txt"

Find all .txt files.

Find Large Files

find / -size +100M

Find files larger than 100MB.

Find Recent Files

find . -mtime -7

Files modified in last week.

Find and Delete

find . -name "*.tmp" -delete

Delete all .tmp files.

Find and Execute

find . -name "*.sh" -exec chmod +x {} \;

Make scripts executable.

Find Empty Files

find . -type f -empty

Find empty files.

Find by User

find /home -user username

Find files owned by user.

Find Directories

find . -type d -name "config"

Find directories named config.

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Tips

• Use -name for simple patterns

• Use -iname for case-insensitive

• Use -type to filter file types

• Use -size to find large/small files

• Use -mtime for time-based searches

• Be careful with -delete

• Use -exec for batch operations

• Essential for file system management