# find

## NAME



           find - search for files in a directory hierarchy
    


## SYNOPSIS



           **find**[-H] [-L] [-P] [-D debugopts] [-O _level_] [starting-point...]
           [expression]
            .
    


## DESCRIPTION



           This manual page documents the GNU version of **find**.  GNU **find**
           searches the directory tree rooted at each given starting-point 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 _and_ operations, true for
           _or_), at which point **find** moves on to the next file name.  If no
           starting-point is specified, `.' is assumed.
    
           If you are using **find** 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 findutils documentation, which is
           called **Finding Files** 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.
    


## OPTIONS



           The **-H** , **-L** and **-P** 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
           **-print** is used (but you should probably consider using **-print0**
           instead, anyway).
    
           This manual page talks about `options' within the expression list.
           These options control the behaviour of **find** but are specified
           immediately after the last path name.  The five `real' options **-H** ,
           **-L** , **-P** , **-D** and **-O** must appear before the first path name, if at
           all.  A double dash **--** could theoretically be used to signal that
           any remaining arguments are not options, but this does not really
           work due to the way **find** determines the end of the following path
           arguments: it does that by reading until an expression argument
           comes (which also starts with a `-').  Now, if a path argument
           would start with a `-', then **find** would treat it as expression
           argument instead.  Thus, to ensure that all start points are taken
           as such, and especially to prevent that wildcard patterns expanded
           by the calling shell are not mistakenly treated as expression
           arguments, it is generally safer to prefix wildcards or dubious
           path names with either `./' or to use absolute path names starting
           with '/'.  Alternatively, it is generally safe though non-portable
           to use the GNU option **-files0-from** to pass arbitrary starting
           points to **find**.
    
           -P     Never follow symbolic links.  This is the default
                  behaviour.  When **find** examines or prints information about
                  files, 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 **find** 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 broken
                  symbolic link or **find** is unable to examine the file to
                  which the link points).  Use of this option implies
                  **-noleaf**.  If you later use the **-P** option, **-noleaf** will
                  still be in effect.  If **-L** is in effect and **find** discovers
                  a symbolic link to a subdirectory during its search, the
                  subdirectory pointed to by the symbolic link will be
                  searched.
    
                  When the **-L** option is in effect, the **-type** 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).  Actions that can cause symbolic
                  links to become broken while **find** is executing (for example
                  **-delete**) can give rise to confusing behaviour.  Using **-L**
                  causes the **-lname** and **-ilname** predicates always to return
                  false.
    
           -H     Do not follow symbolic links, except while processing the
                  command line arguments.  When **find** 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 **-H** 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 **-H** , **-L** and **-P** is specified, each overrides the
           others; the last one appearing on the command line takes effect.
           Since it is the default, the **-P** option should be considered to be
           in effect unless either **-H** or **-L** is specified.
    
           GNU **find** 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 **-P**
           option is in effect (or if neither **-H** nor **-L** 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 **find** 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 **-H** or **-L** options are in effect, any symbolic links listed
           as the argument of **-newer** will be dereferenced, and the timestamp
           will be taken from the file to which the symbolic link points.
           The same consideration applies to **-newerXY** , **-anewer** and **-cnewer**.
    
           The **-follow** option has a similar effect to **-L** , though it takes
           effect at the point where it appears (that is, if **-L** is not used
           but **-follow** is, any symbolic links appearing after **-follow** on the
           command line will be dereferenced, and those before it will not).
    
           -D debugopts
                  Print diagnostic information; this can be helpful to
                  diagnose problems with why **find** is not doing what you want.
                  The list of debug options should be comma separated.
                  Compatibility of the debug options is not guaranteed
                  between releases of findutils.  For a complete list of
                  valid debug options, see the output of **find -D help**.  Valid
                  debug options include
    
                  exec   Show diagnostic information relating to -exec,
                         -execdir, -ok and -okdir
    
                  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.
    
                  search Navigate the directory tree verbosely.
    
                  stat   Print messages as files are examined with the **stat**
                         and **lstat** system calls.  The **find** program tries to
                         minimise such calls.
    
                  tree   Show the expression tree in its original and
                         optimized form.
    
                  all    Enable all of the other debug options (but **help**).
    
                  help   Explain the debugging options.
    
           -O _level_
                  Enables query optimisation.  The **find** 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 optimisations
                  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 **-name** and **-regex**)
                         are performed first.
    
                  2      Any **-type** or **-xtype** 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 **readdir()** and so these predicates are
                         faster to evaluate than predicates which need to
                         stat the file first.  If you use the **-fstype** _FOO_
                         predicate and specify a filesystem type _FOO_ which is
                         not known (that is, present in `/etc/mtab') at the
                         time **find** starts, that predicate is equivalent to
                         **-false**.
    
                  3      At this optimisation level, the full cost-based
                         query optimizer 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 **-o** , predicates which are likely to succeed
                         are evaluated earlier, and for **-a** , predicates which
                         are likely to fail are evaluated earlier.
    
                  The cost-based optimizer 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, **-type f** is assumed to be more likely to succeed
                  than **-type c**).  The cost-based optimizer is currently being
                  evaluated.  If it does not actually improve the performance
                  of **find** , it will be removed again.  Conversely,
                  optimisations that prove to be reliable, 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 **find** at each
                  optimisation level and ensures that the result is the same.
    
                  The re-ordering of operations performed by the cost-based
                  optimizer can result in user-visible behaviour change.  For
                  example, the **-readable** and **-empty** predicates are sensitive
                  to re-ordering.  If they are run in the order **-empty**
                  **-readable** , an error message will be issued for unreadable
                  directories.  If they are run in the order **-readable -empty**
                  no error message will be issued.  This is the reason why
                  such operation re-ordering is not performed at the default
                  optimisation level.
    


## EXPRESSION



           The part of the command line after the list of starting points is
           the _expression_.  This is a kind of query specification describing
           how we match files and what we do with the files that were
           matched.  An expression is composed of a sequence of things:
    
           Tests  Tests return a true or false value, usually on the basis of
                  some property of a file we are considering.  The **-empty**
                  test for example is true only when the current file is
                  empty.
    
           Actions
                  Actions have side effects (such as printing something on
                  the standard output) and return either true or false,
                  usually based on whether or not they are successful.  The
                  **-print** action for example prints the name of the current
                  file on the standard output.
    
           Global options
                  Global options affect the operation of tests and actions
                  specified on any part of the command line.  Global options
                  always return true.  The **-depth** option for example makes
                  **find** traverse the file system in a depth-first order.
    
           Positional options
                  Positional options affect only tests or actions which
                  follow them.  Positional options always return true.  The
                  **-regextype** option for example is positional, specifying the
                  regular expression dialect for regular expressions
                  occurring later on the command line.
    
           Operators
                  Operators join together the other items within the
                  expression.  They include for example **-o**(meaning logical
                  OR) and **-a**(meaning logical AND).  Where an operator is
                  missing, **-a** is assumed.
    
           The **-print** action is performed on all files for which the whole
           expression is true, unless it contains an action other than **-prune**
           or **-quit**.  Actions which inhibit the default **-print** are **-delete** ,
           **-exec** , **-execdir** , **-fls** , **-fprint** , **-fprint0** , **-fprintf** , **-ls** , **-ok** ,
           **-okdir** , **-print0** , **-printf** and **-print**.
    
           The **-delete** action also acts like an option (since it implies
           **-depth**).
    
       **POSITIONAL OPTIONS**
           Positional options always return true.  They affect only tests
           occurring later on the command line.
    
           -daystart
                  Measure times (for **-amin** , **-atime** , **-cmin** , **-ctime** , **-mmin** , and
                  **-mtime**) from the beginning of today rather than from 24
                  hours ago.  This option only affects tests which appear
                  later on the command line.
    
           -follow
                  Deprecated; use the **-L** option instead.  Dereference
                  symbolic links.  Implies **-noleaf**.  The **-follow** option
                  affects only those tests which appear after it on the
                  command line.  Unless the **-H** or **-L** option has been
                  specified, the position of the **-follow** option changes the
                  behaviour of the **-newer** predicate; any files listed as the
                  argument of **-newer** will be dereferenced if they are
                  symbolic links.  The same consideration applies to
                  **-newerXY** , **-anewer** and **-cnewer**.  Similarly, the **-type**
                  predicate will always match against the type of the file
                  that a symbolic link points to rather than the link itself.
                  Using **-follow** causes the **-lname and -ilname** predicates
                  always to return false.
    
           -regextype _type_
                  Changes the regular expression syntax understood by **-regex**
                  and **-iregex** tests which occur later on the command line.
                  To see which regular expression types are known, use
                  **-regextype help**.  The Texinfo documentation (see **SEE ALSO**)
                  explains the meaning of and differences between the various
                  types of regular expression.  If you do not use this
                  option, find behaves as if the regular expression type
                  **emacs** had been specified.
    
           -warn, -nowarn
                  Turn warning messages on or off.  These warnings apply only
                  to the command line usage, not to any conditions that **find**
                  might encounter when it searches directories.  The default
                  behaviour corresponds to **-warn** if standard input is a tty,
                  and to **-nowarn** otherwise.  If a warning message relating to
                  command-line usage is produced, the exit status of **find** is
                  not affected.  If the **POSIXLY_CORRECT** environment variable
                  is set, and **-warn** is also used, it is not specified which,
                  if any, warnings will be active.
    
       **GLOBAL OPTIONS**
           Global options always return true.  Global options take effect
           even for tests which occur earlier on the command line.  To
           prevent confusion, global options should be specified on the
           command-line after the list of start points, just before the first
           test, positional option or action.  If you specify a global option
           in some other place, **find** will issue a warning message explaining
           that this can be confusing.
    
           The global options occur after the list of start points, and so
           are not the same kind of option as **-L** , for example.
    
           -d     A synonym for -depth, for compatibility with FreeBSD,
                  NetBSD, MacOS X and OpenBSD.
    
           -depth Process each directory's contents before the directory
                  itself.  The -delete action also implies **-depth**.
    
           -files0-from _file_
                  Read the starting points from _file_ instead of getting them
                  on the command line.  In contrast to the known limitations
                  of passing starting points via arguments on the command
                  line, namely the limitation of the amount of file names,
                  and the inherent ambiguity of file names clashing with
                  option names, using this option allows to safely pass an
                  arbitrary number of starting points to **find**.
    
                  Using this option and passing starting points on the
                  command line is mutually exclusive, and is therefore not
                  allowed at the same time.
    
                  The _file_ argument is mandatory.  One can use **-files0-from -**
                  to read the list of starting points from the _standard input_
                  stream, and e.g. from a pipe.  In this case, the actions
                  **-ok** and **-okdir** are not allowed, because they would
                  obviously interfere with reading from _standard input_ in
                  order to get a user confirmation.
    
                  The starting points in _file_ have to be separated by ASCII
                  NUL characters.  Two consecutive NUL characters, i.e., a
                  starting point with a Zero-length file name is not allowed
                  and will lead to an error diagnostic followed by a non-Zero
                  exit code later.
    
                  In the case the given _file_ is empty, **find** does not process
                  any starting point and therefore will exit immediately
                  after parsing the program arguments.  This is unlike the
                  standard invocation where **find** assumes the current
                  directory as starting point if no path argument is passed.
    
                  The processing of the starting points is otherwise as
                  usual, e.g. **find** will recurse into subdirectories unless
                  otherwise prevented.  To process only the starting points,
                  one can additionally pass **-maxdepth 0**.
    
                  Further notes: if a file is listed more than once in the
                  input file, it is unspecified whether it is visited more
                  than once.  If the _file_ is mutated during the operation of
                  **find** , the result is unspecified as well.  Finally, the seek
                  position within the named _file_ at the time **find** exits, be
                  it with **-quit** or in any other way, is also unspecified.  By
                  "unspecified" here is meant that it may or may not work or
                  do any specific thing, and that the behavior may change
                  from platform to platform, or from **findutils** release to
                  release.
    
           -help, --help
                  Print a summary of the command-line usage of **find** and exit.
    
           -ignore_readdir_race
                  Normally, **find** 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 **find** 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 **find** commands instead, one with the option and one
                  without it).
    
                  Furthermore, **find** with the **-ignore_readdir_race** option will
                  ignore errors of the **-delete** action in the case the file
                  has disappeared since the parent directory was read: it
                  will not output an error diagnostic, and the return code of
                  the **-delete** action will be true.
    
           -maxdepth _levels_
                  Descend at most _levels_ (a non-negative integer) levels of
                  directories below the starting-points.  Using **-maxdepth 0**
                  means only apply the tests and actions to the starting-
                  points themselves.
    
           -mindepth _levels_
                  Do not apply any tests or actions at levels less than
                  _levels_ (a non-negative integer).  Using **-mindepth 1** means
                  process all files except the starting-points.
    
           -mount Don't descend directories on other filesystems.  An
                  alternate name for **-xdev** , for compatibility with some other
                  versions of **find**.
    
           -noignore_readdir_race
                  Turns off the effect of **-ignore_readdir_race**.
    
           -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 **find** 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-directories (`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.
    
           -version, --version
                  Print the **find** version number and exit.
    
           -xdev  Don't descend directories on other filesystems.
    
       **TESTS**
           Some tests, for example **-newerXY** and **-samefile** , 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
           **-H** , **-L** and **-P** and any previous **-follow** , 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 stat(2)
           system call fails for it), an error message is issued, and **find**
           exits with a nonzero status.
    
           A numeric argument _n_ can be specified to tests (like **-amin** ,
           **-mtime** , **-gid** , **-inum** , **-links** , **-size** , **-uid** and **-used**) as
    
           _+n_     for greater than _n_ ,
    
           _-n_     for less than _n_ ,
    
           _n_      for exactly _n_.
    
           Supported tests:
    
           -amin _n_
                  File was last accessed less than, more than or exactly _n_
                  minutes ago.
    
           -anewer _reference_
                  Like **-newer** , but test if the time of the last access of the
                  current file is more recent than that of the last data
                  modification of the _reference_ file.  If _reference_ is a
                  symbolic link and the **-H** option or the **-L** option is in
                  effect, then the time of the last data modification of the
                  file it points to is always used.
    
           -atime _n_
                  File was last accessed less than, more than or exactly _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 **-atime +1** , a file has to have been
                  accessed at least _two_ days ago.
    
           -cmin _n_
                  File's status was last changed less than, more than or
                  exactly _n_ minutes ago.
    
           -cnewer _reference_
                  Like **-newer** , but test if the time of the last status change
                  of the current file is more recent than that of the last
                  data modification of the _reference_ file.  If _reference_ is a
                  symbolic link and the **-H** option or the **-L** option is in
                  effect, then the time of the last data modification of the
                  file it points to is always used.
    
           -ctime _n_
                  File's status was last changed less than, more than or
                  exactly _n_ *24 hours ago.  See the comments for **-atime** 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) by the
                  current user.  This takes into account access control lists
                  and other permissions artefacts which the **-perm** test
                  ignores.  This test makes use of the access(2) system call,
                  and so can be fooled by NFS servers which do UID mapping
                  (or root-squashing), since many systems implement access(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 access(2) system call,
                  there is no guarantee that a file for which this test
                  succeeds can actually be executed.
    
           -false Always false.
    
           -fstype _type_
                  File is on a filesystem of type _type_.  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 **-printf** with the %F directive to see the
                  types of your filesystems.
    
           -gid _n_ File's numeric group ID is less than, more than or exactly
                  _n_.
    
           -group _gname_
                  File belongs to group _gname_ (numeric group ID allowed).
    
           -ilname _pattern_
                  Like **-lname** , but the match is case insensitive.  If the **-L**
                  option or the **-follow** option is in effect, this test
                  returns false unless the symbolic link is broken.
    
           -iname _pattern_
                  Like **-name** , but the match is case insensitive.  For
                  example, the patterns `fo*' and `F??' match the file names
                  `Foo', `FOO', `foo', `fOo', etc.  The pattern `*foo*` will
                  also match a file called '.foobar'.
    
           -inum _n_
                  File has inode number smaller than, greater than or exactly
                  _n_.  It is normally easier to use the **-samefile** test
                  instead.
    
           -ipath _pattern_
                  Like **-path**.  but the match is case insensitive.
    
           -iregex _pattern_
                  Like **-regex** , but the match is case insensitive.
    
           -iwholename _pattern_
                  See -ipath.  This alternative is less portable than **-ipath**.
    
           -links _n_
                  File has less than, more than or exactly _n_ hard links.
    
           -lname _pattern_
                  File is a symbolic link whose contents match shell pattern
                  _pattern_.  The metacharacters do not treat `/' or `.'
                  specially.  If the **-L** option or the **-follow** option is in
                  effect, this test returns false unless the symbolic link is
                  broken.
    
           -mmin _n_
                  File's data was last modified less than, more than or
                  exactly _n_ minutes ago.
    
           -mtime _n_
                  File's data was last modified less than, more than or
                  exactly _n_ *24 hours ago.  See the comments for **-atime** to
                  understand how rounding affects the interpretation of file
                  modification times.
    
           -name _pattern_
                  Base of file name (the path with the leading directories
                  removed) matches shell pattern _pattern_.  Because the
                  leading directories of the file names are removed, the
                  _pattern_ should not include a slash, because `-name a/b'
                  will never match anything (and you probably want to use
                  **-path** instead).  An exception to this is when using only a
                  slash as _pattern_ (`-name /'), because that is a valid
                  string for matching the root directory "/" (because the
                  base name of "/" is "/").  A warning is issued if you try
                  to pass a pattern containing a - but not consisting solely
                  of one - slash, unless the environment variable
                  **POSIXLY_CORRECT** is set or the option **-nowarn** is used.
    
                  To ignore a directory and the files under it, use **-prune**
                  rather than checking every file in the tree; see an example
                  in the description of that action.  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 fnmatch(3) library function.  Don't forget
                  to enclose the pattern in quotes in order to protect it
                  from expansion by the shell.
    
           -newer _reference_
                  Time of the last data modification of the current file is
                  more recent than that of the last data modification of the
                  _reference_ file.  If _reference_ is a symbolic link and the **-H**
                  option or the **-L** option is in effect, then the time of the
                  last data modification of the file it points to is always
                  used.
    
           -newerXY _reference_
                  Succeeds if timestamp _X_ of the file being considered is
                  newer than timestamp _Y_ of the file _reference_.  The letters
                  _X_ and _Y_ can be any of the following letters:
    
                  a   The access time of the file _reference_
                  B   The birth time of the file _reference_
                  c   The inode status change time of _reference_
                  m   The modification time of the file _reference_
                  t   _reference_ 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 _XY_ is
                  specified, a fatal error results.  Time specifications are
                  interpreted as for the argument to the **-d** option of GNU
                  **date**.  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 _pattern_
                  File name matches shell pattern _pattern_.  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 **-prune**
                  rather than checking every file in the tree.  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
                  Find compares the **-path** argument with the concatenation of
                  a directory name and the base name of the file it's
                  examining.  Since the concatenation will never end with a
                  slash, **-path** arguments ending in a slash will match nothing
                  (except perhaps a start point specified on the command
                  line).  The predicate **-path** is also supported by HP-UX **find**
                  and is part of the POSIX 2008 standard.
    
           -perm _mode_
                  File's permission bits are exactly _mode_ (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 `-perm
                  g=w' 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 `-perm -g=w', which
                  matches any file with group write permission.  See the
                  **EXAMPLES** section for some illustrative examples.
    
           -perm -_mode_
                  All of the permission bits _mode_ are set for the file.
                  Symbolic modes are accepted in this form, and this is
                  usually the way in which you would want to use them.  You
                  must specify `u', `g' or `o' if you use a symbolic mode.
                  See the **EXAMPLES** section for some illustrative examples.
    
           -perm /_mode_
                  Any of the permission bits _mode_ 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
                  **EXAMPLES** section for some illustrative examples.  If no
                  permission bits in _mode_ are set, this test matches any file
                  (the idea here is to be consistent with the behaviour of
                  **-perm -000**).
    
           -perm +_mode_
                  This is no longer supported (and has been deprecated since
                  2005).  Use **-perm /**_mode_ instead.
    
           -readable
                  Matches files which are readable by the current user.  This
                  takes into account access control lists and other
                  permissions artefacts which the **-perm** test ignores.  This
                  test makes use of the access(2) system call, and so can be
                  fooled by NFS servers which do UID mapping (or root-
                  squashing), since many systems implement access(2) in the
                  client's kernel and so cannot make use of the UID mapping
                  information held on the server.
    
           -regex _pattern_
                  File name matches regular expression _pattern_.  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 **find** are by default Emacs
                  Regular Expressions, but this can be changed with the
                  **-regextype** option.
    
           -samefile _name_
                  File refers to the same inode as _name_.  When **-L** is in
                  effect, this can include symbolic links.
    
           -size _n_[cwbkMG]
                  File uses less than, more than or exactly _n_ units of space,
                  rounding up.  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 kibibytes (KiB, units of 1024 bytes)
    
                  `M'    for mebibytes (MiB, units of 1024 * 1024 = 1048576
                         bytes)
    
                  `G'    for gibibytes (GiB, units of 1024 * 1024 * 1024 =
                         1073741824 bytes)
    
                  The size is simply the st_size member of the struct stat
                  populated by the lstat (or stat) system call, rounded up as
                  shown above.  In other words, it's consistent with the
                  result you get for **ls -l**.  Bear in mind that the `%k' and
                  `%b' format specifiers of **-printf** handle sparse files
                  differently.  The `b' suffix always denotes 512-byte blocks
                  and never 1024-byte blocks, which is different to the
                  behaviour of **-ls**.
    
                  The + and - prefixes signify greater than and less than, as
                  usual; i.e., an exact size of _n_ units does not match.  Bear
                  in mind that the size is rounded up to the next unit.
                  Therefore **-size -1M** is not equivalent to **-size -1048576c**.
                  The former only matches empty files, the latter matches
                  files from 0 to 1,048,575 bytes.
    
           -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 **-L** option
                         or the **-follow** option is in effect, unless the
                         symbolic link is broken.  If you want to search for
                         symbolic links when **-L** is in effect, use **-xtype**.
    
                  s      socket
    
                  D      door (Solaris)
    
                  To search for more than one type at once, you can supply
                  the combined list of type letters separated by a comma `,'
                  (GNU extension).
    
           -uid _n_ File's numeric user ID is less than, more than or exactly
                  _n_.
    
           -used _n_
                  File was last accessed less than, more than or exactly _n_
                  days after its status was last changed.
    
           -user _uname_
                  File is owned by user _uname_ (numeric user ID allowed).
    
           -wholename _pattern_
                  See -path.  This alternative is less portable than **-path**.
    
           -writable
                  Matches files which are writable by the current user.  This
                  takes into account access control lists and other
                  permissions artefacts which the **-perm** test ignores.  This
                  test makes use of the access(2) system call, and so can be
                  fooled by NFS servers which do UID mapping (or root-
                  squashing), since many systems implement access(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 **-type** unless the file is a symbolic link.  For
                  symbolic links: if the **-H** or **-P** option was specified, true
                  if the file is a link to a file of type _c_ ; if the **-L** option
                  has been given, true if _c_ is `l'.  In other words, for
                  symbolic links, **-xtype** checks the type of the file that
                  **-type** does not check.  If a symbolic link is broken
                  (because the thing it points to does not exist or the link
                  points to itself) then **-xtype** will behave the same as
                  **-type**.
    
           -context _pattern_
                  (SELinux only) Security context of the file matches glob
                  _pattern_.
    
       **ACTIONS**
           -delete
                  Delete files or directories; true if removal succeeded.  If
                  the removal failed, an error message is issued and **find** 's
                  exit status will be nonzero (when it eventually exits).
    
                  **Warning** : Don't forget that **find** evaluates the command line
                  as an expression, so putting **-delete** first will make **find**
                  try to delete everything below the starting points you
                  specified.
    
                  The use of the **-delete** action on the command line
                  automatically turns on the **-depth** option.  As in turn
                  **-depth** makes **-prune** ineffective, the **-delete** action cannot
                  usefully be combined with **-prune**.
    
                  Often, the user might want to test a **find** command line with
                  **-print** prior to adding **-delete** for the actual removal run.
                  To avoid surprising results, it is usually best to remember
                  to use **-depth** explicitly during those earlier test runs.
    
                  The **-delete** action will fail to remove a directory unless
                  it is empty.
    
                  Together with the **-ignore_readdir_race** option, **find** will
                  ignore errors of the **-delete** action in the case the file
                  has disappeared since the parent directory was read: it
                  will not output an error diagnostic, not change the exit
                  code to nonzero, and the return code of the **-delete** action
                  will be true.
    
           -exec _command_ ;
                  Execute _command_ ; true if 0 status is returned.  All
                  following arguments to **find** 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 **find**.  Both of these
                  constructions might need to be escaped (with a `\') or
                  quoted to protect them from expansion by the shell.  See
                  the **EXAMPLES** section for examples of the use of the **-exec**
                  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 **-exec** action; you should use the **-execdir** option
                  instead.
    
           -exec _command_ {} +
                  This variant of the **-exec** 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 **xargs** builds its command lines.
                  Only one instance of `{}' is allowed within the command,
                  and it must appear at the end, immediately before the `+';
                  it needs to be escaped (with a `\') or quoted to protect it
                  from interpretation by the shell.  The command is executed
                  in the starting directory.  If any invocation with the `+'
                  form returns a non-zero value as exit status, then **find**
                  returns a non-zero exit status.  If **find** encounters an
                  error, this can sometimes cause an immediate exit, so some
                  pending commands may not be run at all.  For this reason
                  **-exec** _my-command_ **... {} + -quit** may not result in _my-_
                  _command_ actually being run.  This variant of **-exec** always
                  returns true.
    
           -execdir _command_ ;
    
           -execdir _command_ {} +
                  Like **-exec** , but the specified command is run from the
                  subdirectory containing the matched file, which is not
                  normally the directory in which you started **find**.  Each
                  selected file name except for the root directory _"/"_ is
                  prepended with _"./"_.  As with -exec, the {} should be
                  quoted if find is being invoked from a shell.  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 **-exec** action, the `+' form of **-execdir**
                  will build a command line to process more than one matched
                  file, but any given invocation of _command_ will only list
                  files that exist in the same subdirectory.  If you use this
                  option, you must ensure that your **PATH** environment variable
                  does not reference `.'; otherwise, an attacker can run any
                  commands they like by leaving an appropriately-named file
                  in a directory in which you will run **-execdir**.  The same
                  applies to having entries in **PATH** which are empty or which
                  are not absolute directory names.  If any invocation with
                  the `+' form returns a non-zero value as exit status, then
                  **find** returns a non-zero exit status.  If **find** encounters an
                  error, this can sometimes cause an immediate exit, so some
                  pending commands may not be run at all.  The result of the
                  action depends on whether the **+** or the **;** variant is being
                  used; **-execdir** _command_ **{} +** always returns true, while
                  **-execdir** _command_ **{} ;** returns true only if _command_ returns
                  0.
    
           -fls _file_
                  True; like **-ls** but write to _file_ like **-fprint**.  The output
                  file is always created, even if the predicate is never
                  matched.  See the **UNUSUAL FILENAMES** section for information
                  about how unusual characters in filenames are handled.
    
           -fprint _file_
                  True; print the full file name into file _file_.  If _file_
                  does not exist when **find** 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 **UNUSUAL FILENAMES** section for
                  information about how unusual characters in filenames are
                  handled.
    
           -fprint0 _file_
                  True; like **-print0** but write to _file_ like **-fprint**.  The
                  output file is always created, even if the predicate is
                  never matched.  See the **UNUSUAL FILENAMES** section for
                  information about how unusual characters in filenames are
                  handled.
    
           -fprintf _file format_
                  True; like **-printf** but write to _file_ like **-fprint**.  The
                  output file is always created, even if the predicate is
                  never matched.  See the **UNUSUAL FILENAMES** section for
                  information about how unusual characters in filenames are
                  handled.
    
           -ls    True; list current file in **ls -dils** format on standard
                  output.  The block counts are of 1 KiB blocks, unless the
                  environment variable **POSIXLY_CORRECT** is set, in which case
                  512-byte blocks are used.  See the **UNUSUAL FILENAMES**
                  section for information about how unusual characters in
                  filenames are handled.
    
           -ok _command_ ;
                  Like **-exec** 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 _/dev/null_.
                  This action may not be specified together with the
                  **-files0-from** option.
    
                  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** environment variable
                  is set, or otherwise from **find** 's message translations.  If
                  the system has no suitable definition, **find** '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 _command_ ;
                  Like **-execdir** but ask the user first in the same way as for
                  **-ok**.  If the user does not agree, just return false.  If
                  the command is run, its standard input is redirected from
                  _/dev/null_.  This action may not be specified together with
                  the **-files0-from** option.
    
           -print True; print the full file name on the standard output,
                  followed by a newline.  If you are piping the output of
                  **find** 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 **-print0** option instead of **-print**.  See the
                  **UNUSUAL FILENAMES** 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 **-print** uses).  This allows file names that
                  contain newlines or other types of white space to be
                  correctly interpreted by programs that process the **find**
                  output.  This option corresponds to the **-0** option of **xargs**.
    
           -printf _format_
                  True; print _format_ on the standard output, interpreting `\'
                  escapes and `%' directives.  Field widths and precisions
                  can be specified as with the printf(3) 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 **-print** , **-printf**
                  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(3) function.
    
                  %A _k_    File's last access time in the format specified by
                         _k_ , which is either `@' or a directive for the C
                         strftime(3) function.  The following shows an
                         incomplete list of possible values for _k_.  Please
                         refer to the documentation of strftime(3) for the
                         full list.  Some of the conversion specification
                         characters might not be available on all systems,
                         due to differences in the implementation of the
                         strftime(3) library function.
    
                         @      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.xxxxxxxxxx)
    
                         +      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).  The
                                seconds field includes a fractional part.
    
                         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
                                ctime(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)
    
                         F      date (yyyy-mm-dd)
    
                         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.
    
                  %B _k_    File's birth time, i.e., its creation time, in the
                         format specified by _k_ , which is the same as for %A.
                         This directive produces an empty string if the
                         underlying operating system or filesystem does not
                         support birth times.
    
                  %c     File's last status change time in the format
                         returned by the C ctime(3) 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 starting-point.
    
                  %D     The device number on which the file exists (the
                         st_dev field of struct stat), in decimal.
    
                  %f     Print the basename; the file's name with any leading
                         directories removed (only the last element).  For **/** ,
                         the result is `/'.  See the **EXAMPLES** section for an
                         example.
    
                  %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     Dirname; the Leading directories of the 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 `.'.  For
                         files which are themselves directories and contain a
                         slash (including **/**), %h expands to the empty string.
                         See the **EXAMPLES** section for an example.
    
                  %H     Starting-point under which file was found.
    
                  %i     File's inode number (in decimal).
    
                  %k     The amount of disk space used for this file in 1 KiB
                         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 example, `%#m').
    
                  %M     File's permissions (in symbolic form, as for **ls**).
                         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 starting-point
                         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.  In general the number of
                         blocks used by a file is file system dependent.  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(3) 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 **ls -l**), U=unknown type
                         (shouldn't happen)
    
                  %Y     File's type (like %y), plus follow symbolic links:
                         `L'=loop, `N'=nonexistent, `?' for any other error
                         when determining the type of the target of a
                         symbolic link.
    
                  %Z     (SELinux only) file's security context.
    
                  %{ %[ %(
                         Reserved for future use.
    
                  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 **#** , **0** and **+** flags, but
                  the other directives do not, even if they print numbers.
                  Numeric directives that do not support these flags include
                  **G** , **U** , **b** , **D** , **k** and **n**.  The `-' format flag is supported and
                  changes the alignment of a field from right-justified
                  (which is the default) to left-justified.
    
                  See the **UNUSUAL FILENAMES** 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 **-depth** is given, then **-prune** has no effect.  Because
                  **-delete** implies **-depth** , you cannot usefully use **-prune** and
                  **-delete** together.  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
    
           -quit  Exit immediately (with return value zero if no errors have
                  occurred).  This is different to **-prune** because **-prune** only
                  applies to the contents of pruned directories, while **-quit**
                  simply makes **find** stop immediately.  No child processes
                  will be left running.  Any command lines which have been
                  built by **-exec ... +** or **-execdir ... +** are invoked before
                  the program is exited.  After **-quit** is executed, no more
                  files specified on the command line will be processed.  For
                  example, `**find** _/tmp/foo /tmp/bar_ **-print -quit** ` will print
                  only `/tmp/foo`.
                  One common use of **-quit** is to stop searching the file
                  system once we have found what we want.  For example, if we
                  want to find just a single file we can do this:
                      find / -name needle -print -quit
    
       **OPERATORS**
           Listed in order of decreasing precedence:
    
           ( _expr_ )
                  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 `(...)'.
    
           ! _expr_ True if _expr_ is false.  This character will also usually
                  need protection from interpretation by the shell.
    
           -not _expr_
                  Same as ! _expr_ , but not POSIX compliant.
    
           _expr1 expr2_
                  Two expressions in a row are taken to be joined with an
                  implied **-a** ; _expr2_ is not evaluated if _expr1_ is false.
    
           _expr1_ -a _expr2_
                  Same as _expr1 expr2_.
    
           _expr1_ -and _expr2_
                  Same as _expr1 expr2_ , but not POSIX compliant.
    
           _expr1_ -o _expr2_
                  Or; _expr2_ is not evaluated if _expr1_ is true.
    
           _expr1_ -or _expr2_
                  Same as _expr1_ **-o** _expr2_ , but not POSIX compliant.
    
           _expr1_ , _expr2_
                  List; both _expr1_ and _expr2_ are always evaluated.  The value
                  of _expr1_ is discarded; the value of the list is the value
                  of _expr2_.  The comma operator can be useful for searching
                  for several different types of thing, but traversing the
                  filesystem hierarchy only once.  The **-fprintf** action can be
                  used to list the various matched items into several
                  different output files.
    
           Please note that **-a** when specified implicitly (for example by two
           tests appearing without an explicit operator between them) or
           explicitly has higher precedence than **-o**.  This means that **find .**
           **-name afile -o -name bfile -print** will never print _afile_.
    


## UNUSUAL FILENAMES



           Many of the actions of **find** 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 contain 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 **-ls** and **-fls** 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 **ls**.  This is not the same quoting mechanism as the one
                  used for **-ls** and **-fls**.  If you are able to decide what
                  format to use for the output of **find** 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 **-printf** and
                  **-fprintf**.  If you are using **find** in a script or in a
                  situation where the matched files might have arbitrary
                  names, you should consider using **-print0** instead of **-print**.
    
           The **-ok** and **-okdir** actions print the current filename as-is.  This
           may change in a future release.
    


## STANDARDS CONFORMANCE



           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 1003.1-2008, 2016
           Edition):
    
           **-H** This option is supported.
    
           **-L** This option is supported.
    
           **-name** This option is supported, but POSIX conformance depends on
                  the POSIX conformance of the system's fnmatch(3) library
                  function.  As of findutils-4.2.2, shell metacharacters
                  (`*', `?' or `[]' for example) match a leading `.', because
                  IEEE PASC interpretation 126 requires this.  This is a
                  change from previous versions of findutils.
    
           **-type** Supported.  POSIX specifies `b', `c', `d', `l', `p', `f'
                  and `s'.  GNU find also supports `D', representing a Door,
                  where the OS provides these.  Furthermore, GNU find allows
                  multiple types to be specified at once in a comma-separated
                  list.
    
           **-ok** 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
                  nl_langinfo(3), in particular YESEXPR and NOEXPR.  When
                  **POSIXLY_CORRECT** is not set, the patterns are instead taken
                  from **find** 's own message catalogue.
    
           **-newer** 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.
    
           **-perm** 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 primaries
                  The primaries **-atime** , **-ctime** , **-depth** , **-exec** , **-group** ,
                  **-links** , **-mtime** , **-nogroup** , **-nouser** , **-ok** , **-path** , **-print** ,
                  **-prune** , **-size** , **-user** and **-xdev** are all supported.
    
           The POSIX standard specifies parentheses `(', `)', negation `!'
           and the logical AND/OR operators **-a** and **-o**.
    
           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 **find** detects loops:
    
                  The **find** 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 **find** 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 sometimes optimize away the visiting
           of a subdirectory which is actually a link to an ancestor.  Since
           **find** does not actually enter such a subdirectory, it is allowed to
           avoid emitting a diagnostic message.  Although this behaviour may
           be somewhat confusing, it is unlikely that anybody actually
           depends on this behaviour.  If the leaf optimisation has been
           turned off with **-noleaf** , the directory entry will always be
           examined and the diagnostic message will be issued where it is
           appropriate.  Symbolic links cannot be used to create filesystem
           cycles as such, but if the **-L** option or the **-follow** option is in
           use, a diagnostic message is issued when **find** encounters a loop of
           symbolic links.  As with loops containing hard links, the leaf
           optimisation will often mean that **find** knows that it doesn't need
           to call _stat()_ or _chdir()_ on the symbolic link, so this diagnostic
           is frequently not necessary.
    
           The **-d** option is supported for compatibility with various BSD
           systems, but you should use the POSIX-compliant option **-depth**
           instead.
    
           The **POSIXLY_CORRECT** environment variable does not affect the
           behaviour of the **-regex** or **-iregex** tests because those tests
           aren't specified in the POSIX standard.
    


## ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES



           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 **-name** option.  GNU find
                  uses the fnmatch(3) library function, and so support for
                  **LC_COLLATE** depends on the system library.  This variable
                  also affects the interpretation of the response to **-ok** ;
                  while the **LC_MESSAGES** variable selects the actual pattern
                  used to interpret the response to **-ok** , 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 **-name** test,
                  if the system's fnmatch(3) library function supports this.
                  This variable also affects the interpretation of any
                  character classes in the regular expressions used to
                  interpret the response to the prompt issued by **-ok**.  The
                  **LC_CTYPE** environment variable will also affect which
                  characters are considered to be unprintable 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 **-ok** action.
    
           NLSPATH
                  Determines the location of the internationalisation message
                  catalogues.
    
           PATH   Affects the directories which are searched to find the
                  executables invoked by **-exec** , **-execdir** , **-ok** and **-okdir**.
    
           POSIXLY_CORRECT
                  Determines the block size used by **-ls** and **-fls**.  If
                  **POSIXLY_CORRECT** 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 **-nowarn**) by default, because POSIX requires
                  that apart from the output for **-ok** , all messages printed on
                  stderr are diagnostics and must result in a non-zero exit
                  status.
    
                  When **POSIXLY_CORRECT** is not set, **-perm** _+zzz_ is treated just
                  like **-perm** _/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 **-ok** action is interpreted according to the
                  system's message catalogue, as opposed to according to
                  **find** 's own message translations.
    
           TZ     Affects the time zone used for some of the time-related
                  format directives of **-printf** and **-fprintf**.
    


## EXAMPLES



       **Simple `find|xargs` approach**
           •   Find files named _core_ in or below the directory _/tmp_ and
               delete them.
    
                   **$ find /tmp -name core -type f -print | xargs /bin/rm -f**
    
               Note that this will work incorrectly if there are any
               filenames containing newlines, single or double quotes, or
               spaces.
    
       **Safer `find -print0 | xargs -0` approach**
           •   Find files named _core_ in or below the directory _/tmp_ 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.
    
                   **$ find /tmp -name core -type f -print0 | xargs -0 /bin/rm -f**
    
               The **-name** test comes before the **-type** test in order to avoid
               having to call stat(2) on every file.
    
           Note that there is still a race between the time **find** traverses
           the hierarchy printing the matching filenames, and the time the
           process executed by **xargs** works with that file.
    
       **Processing arbitrary starting points**
           •   Given that another program _proggy_ pre-filters and creates a
               huge NUL-separated list of files, process those as starting
               points, and find all regular, empty files among them:
    
                   **$ proggy | find -files0-from - -maxdepth 0 -type f -empty**
    
               The use of **`-files0-from -`** means to read the names of the
               starting points from _standard input_ , i.e., from the pipe; and
               **-maxdepth 0** ensures that only explicitly those entries are
               examined without recursing into directories (in the case one
               of the starting points is one).
    
       **Executing a command for each file**
           •   Run _file_ on every file in or below the current directory.
    
                   **$ find . -type f -exec file '{}' \;**
    
               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.
    
           In many cases, one might prefer the **`-exec ... +`** or better the
           **`-execdir ... +`** syntax for performance and security reasons.
    
       **Traversing the filesystem just once – for 2 different actions**
           •   Traverse the filesystem just once, listing set-user-ID files
               and directories into _/root/suid.txt_ and large files into
               _/root/big.txt_.
    
                   **$ find / \**
                       **\( -perm -4000 -fprintf /root/suid.txt '%#m %u %p\n' \) , \**
                       **\( -size +100M -fprintf /root/big.txt '%-10s %p\n' \)**
    
               This example uses the line-continuation character '\' on the
               first two lines to instruct the shell to continue reading the
               command on the next line.
    
       **Searching files by age**
           •   Search for files in your home directory which have been
               modified in the last twenty-four hours.
    
                   **$ find $HOME -mtime 0**
    
               This command works this way because the time since each file
               was last modified is divided by 24 hours and any remainder is
               discarded.  That means that to match **-mtime 0** , a file will
               have to have a modification in the past which is less than 24
               hours ago.
    
       **Searching files by permissions**
           •   Search for files which are executable but not readable.
    
                   **$ find /sbin /usr/sbin -executable \! -readable -print**
    
           •   Search for files which have read and write permission for
               their owner, and group, but which other users can read but not
               write to.
    
                   **$ find . -perm 664**
    
               Files which meet these criteria but have other permissions
               bits set (for example if someone can execute the file) will
               not be matched.
    
           •   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).
    
                   **$ find . -perm -664**
    
               This will match a file which has mode _0777_ , for example.
    
           •   Search for files which are writable by somebody (their owner,
               or their group, or anybody else).
    
                   **$ find . -perm /222**
    
           •   Search for files which are writable by either their owner or
               their group.
    
                   **$ find . -perm /220**
                   **$ find . -perm /u+w,g+w**
                   **$ find . -perm /u=w,g=w**
    
               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.  The files don't have to be
               writable by both the owner and group to be matched; either
               will do.
    
           •   Search for files which are writable by both their owner and
               their group.
    
                   **$ find . -perm -220**
                   **$ find . -perm -g+w,u+w**
    
               Both these commands do the same thing.
    
           •   A more elaborate search on permissions.
    
                   **$ find . -perm -444 -perm /222 \! -perm /111**
                   **$ find . -perm -a+r -perm /a+w \! -perm /a+x**
    
               These two commands both search for files that are readable for
               everybody (**-perm -444** or **-perm -a+r**), have at least one write
               bit set (**-perm /222** or **-perm /a+w**) but are not executable for
               anybody (**! -perm /111** or **! -perm /a+x** respectively).
    
       **Pruning – omitting files and subdirectories**
           •   Copy the contents of _/source-dir_ to _/dest-dir_ , but omit files
               and directories named _.snapshot_ (and anything in them).  It
               also omits files or directories whose name ends in `~', but
               not their contents.
    
                   **$ cd /source-dir**
                   **$ find . -name .snapshot -prune -o \( \! -name '*~' -print0 \) \**
                       **| cpio -pmd0 /dest-dir**
    
               The construct **-prune -o \( ... -print0 \)** is quite common.
               The idea here is that the expression before **-prune** matches
               things which are to be pruned.  However, the **-prune** action
               itself returns true, so the following **-o** 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 **-o** is in parentheses
               only for clarity.  It emphasises that the **-print0** action takes
               place only for things that didn't have **-prune** applied to them.
               Because the default `and' condition between tests binds more
               tightly than **-o** , this is the default anyway, but the
               parentheses help to show what is going on.
    
           •   Given the following directory of projects and their associated
               SCM administrative directories, perform an efficient search
               for the projects' roots:
    
                   **$ find repo/ \**
                       **\( -exec test -d '{}/.svn' \; \**
                       **-or -exec test -d '{}/.git' \; \**
                       **-or -exec test -d '{}/CVS' \; \**
                       **\) -print -prune**
    
               Sample directories:
    
                   **repo/project1/CVS**
                   **repo/gnu/project2/.svn**
                   **repo/gnu/project3/.svn**
                   **repo/gnu/project3/src/.svn**
                   **repo/project4/.git**
    
               Output:
    
                   **repo/project1**
                   **repo/gnu/project2**
                   **repo/gnu/project3**
                   **repo/project4**
    
               In this example, **-prune** prevents unnecessary descent into
               directories that have already been discovered (here we do not
               search _project3/src_ because we already found _project3/.svn_),
               but ensures sibling directories (_project2_ and _project3_) are
               found.
    
       **Other useful examples**
           •   Search for several file types.
    
                   **$ find /tmp -type f,d,l**
    
               Search for files, directories, and symbolic links in the
               directory _/tmp_ passing these types as a comma-separated list
               (GNU extension), which is otherwise equivalent to the longer,
               yet more portable:
    
                   **$ find /tmp \( -type f -o -type d -o -type l \)**
    
           •   Search for files with the particular name _needle_ and stop
               immediately when we find the first one.
    
                   **$ find / -name needle -print -quit**
    
           •   Demonstrate the interpretation of the **%f** and **%h** format
               directives of the **-printf** action for some corner-cases.  Here
               is an example including some output.
    
                   **$ find . .. / /tmp /tmp/TRACE compile compile/64/tests/find \**
                     **-maxdepth 0 -printf '[%h][%f]\n'**
                   **[.][.]**
                   **[.][..]**
                   **[][/]**
                   **[][tmp]**
                   **[/tmp][TRACE]**
                   **[.][compile]**
                   **[compile/64/tests][find]**
    


## EXIT STATUS



           **find** 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 **find**.
    
           When some error occurs, **find** may stop immediately, without
           completing all the actions specified.  For example, some starting
           points may not have been examined or some pending program
           invocations for **-exec ... {} +** or **-execdir ... {} +** may not have
           been performed.
    


## COMPATIBILITY



           As of findutils-4.2.2, shell metacharacters (`*', `?' or `[]' for
           example) used in filename patterns match a leading `.', because
           IEEE POSIX interpretation 126 requires this.
    
           As of findutils-4.3.3, **-perm /000** now matches all files instead of
           none.
    
           Nanosecond-resolution timestamps were implemented in
           findutils-4.3.3.
    
           As of findutils-4.3.11, the **-delete** action sets **find** 's exit status
           to a nonzero value when it fails.  However, **find** will not exit
           immediately.  Previously, **find** 's exit status was unaffected by the
           failure of **-delete**.
    
           Feature                Added in   Also occurs in
           -files0-from           4.9.0
           -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
           -print0                2.0        POSIX (from Issue 8)
    
           The syntax **-perm +MODE** was removed in findutils-4.5.12, in favour
           of **-perm /MODE**.  The **+MODE** syntax had been deprecated since
           findutils-4.2.21 which was released in 2005.
    


## NON-BUGS



       **Operator precedence surprises**
           The command **find . -name afile -o -name bfile -print** will never
           print _afile_ because this is actually equivalent to **find . -name**
           **afile -o \( -name bfile -a -print \)**.  Remember that the
           precedence of **-a** is higher than that of **-o** and when there is no
           operator specified between tests, **-a** is assumed.
    
       **“paths must precede expression” error message**
           **$ find . -name *.c -print**
           find: paths must precede expression
           find: possible unquoted pattern after predicate `-name'?
    
           This happens when the shell could expand the pattern _*.c_ to more
           than one file name existing in the current directory, and passing
           the resulting file names in the command line to **find** like this:
           **find . -name frcode.c locate.c word_io.c -print**
           That command is of course not going to work, because the **-name**
           predicate allows exactly only one pattern as argument.  Instead of
           doing things this way, you should enclose the pattern in quotes or
           escape the wildcard, thus allowing **find** to use the pattern with
           the wildcard during the search for file name matching instead of
           file names expanded by the parent shell:
           **$ find . -name '*.c' -print**
           **$ find . -name \*.c -print**
    


## BUGS



           There are security problems inherent in the behaviour that the
           POSIX standard specifies for **find** , which therefore cannot be
           fixed.  For example, the **-exec** action is inherently insecure, and
           **-execdir** should be used instead.
    
           The environment variable **LC_COLLATE** has no effect on the **-ok**
           action.
    


* * *