Mac OS X in a Nutshell

Name

find

Synopsis

find [options] [pathnames] [conditions]

An extremely useful command for finding particular groups of files (numerous examples follow this description). find descends the directory tree beginning at each pathname and locates files that meet the specified conditions. The default pathname is the current directory. The most useful conditions include -print (which is the default if no other expression is given), -name and -type (for general use), -exec and -size (for advanced users), and -mtime and -user (for administrators).

Conditions may be grouped by enclosing them in \( \) (escaped parentheses), negated with ! (use \! in the C shell), given as alternatives by separating them with -o, or repeated (adding restrictions to the match; usually only for -name, -type, -perm). Modification refers to editing of a file’s contents. Change refers to modification, permission or ownership changes, and so on; therefore, for example, -ctime is more inclusive than -atime or -mtime.

Options

-d

Descend the directory tree, skipping directories and working on actual files first (and then the parent directories). Useful when files reside in unwritable directories (e.g., when using find with cpio).

-E

When used with the -regex or -iregex conditions, interpret the regular expression as extended instead of basic. For more information on regular expressions, see Chapter 20.

-H

If any of the pathnames given in the command line are symbolic links, consider the file information of the referenced ...