How to use the find command (file search)

This section explains how to use the find command for file searches. In addition to file names, you can search for files using a variety of other criteria.

Format

find [search path] [options] [search expression]

Examples of Use

basis
( -name )

Search for the file Kernel.php in the current directory.

$ find . -name "Kernel.php"
./app/Http/Kernel.php
./app/Console/Kernel.php

case-sensitivity
( -iname )

Search for files in the current directory that contain the word controller (case insensitive).

$ find . -iname "*controller*"

Application with xargs

Delete files with the tmp extension in the current directory.

$ find . -name "*.tmp" | xargs rm -f

Conditional on the renewal date.
( -mtime )

Search for files in the current directory that have been updated within the last 3 hours.

find . -mtime -3h

Specify search hierarchy
( -maxdepth )

Search for files in the current directory (down to the second level) that have been modified within the last 3 days.

$ find . -maxdepth 2 -mtime -3

Directory only
( -type d )

Display only directories in the app directory (not lower level directories).

$ find app -maxdepth 0 -type d

File only
( -type f )

Show only files in app directory.

$ find app -type f

Subject to file permissions
( -perm )

Search for files with 777 permissions in the current directory.

$ find . -perm 777

Subject to file size
( -size )

Search for files larger than 10 MB in the current directory.

$ find . -size +10M

k M G etc. can be specified.