Linux find Command with 20 Examples

Linux finds a command-line utility used to search files and directories based on different permissions, ownership, modification, etc. In this article, we will cover Linux find Command with 20 Examples.

Linux find command is available in all Linux-based distro, hence no need to install it separately. This powerful command helps you to locate resources in your system.

Syntax

Below is the generic syntax of find command:

find <path> <option> <crtieria>

(1) Find files using filename in current directory

find . -name <file-name>

(2) Search for file in specific directory

find <directory-path> -name <file-name>

(3) Find files using filename ignoring case

find . -iname <filename>

(4) Search for pattern in file in specific directory

find <directory-path> -name *.<extension-name>

(5) If you interested to see manual of find command

find --help

(6) Search empty directory and file

find <directory-path> -empty

 (7) Search for file with specific permissions

find <directory-path> -perm <nnn>

(8) Search directories using name in current directory

find / -type d -name <directory-name>

(9) Search SGID Files with specific permissions

find / -perm 2604

(10) Search all SGID set files

find / -perm /g=s

(11) Search read only files in current directory

find . -perm /u=r

(12) Search executable files

find / -perm /a=x

(13) Search files with specific permissions and change permissions.

find / -type f -perm 0744 -print -exec chmod 644 {} \;

(14) Search directory with specific permissions and change permissions

find / -type d -perm 744 -print -exec chmod 744 {} \;

(15) Search all hidden files in usr directory

find /usr -type f -name ".*"

(16) Search all files filter by username

find /home -user <user-name>

(17) Search all files based on group

find /home -group <group-name>

(18) To search all the files which are modified 40 days back

find / -mtime 40

(19) Search accessed files in last 40 days

find / -atime 50

(20) Search modified files in range of 20 to 50 days

find / -mtime +20 –mtime -50

Conclusion

Linux find command is a powerful command only if you use or exploit it with full potential. In this article, we have discussed a brief about Linux find command and mentioned 20 examples of how we can use it effectively.