How to find files in Linux with the find command - Rocketeers app [ Rocketeers ](/) [Login](https://rocketeersapp.com/login) On this page Knowledge --------- How to find files in Linux with the find command ================================================ ### [\#CommandLine](https://rocketeersapp.com/knowledge/command-line) Locate files in Linux with the find command by name, type, size and modification time, and run actions on the results with -exec or -delete. Published by [Mark van Eijk](https://rocketeersapp.com/author/mark-van-eijk) on June 23, 2026 · 1 minute read 1. [Finding files with find](#content-finding-files-with-find) 2. [Find by name](#content-find-by-name) 3. [Find by type](#content-find-by-type) 4. [Find by size](#content-find-by-size) 5. [Find by modification time](#content-find-by-modification-time) 6. [Searching a specific path](#content-searching-a-specific-path) 7. [Acting on results with -exec](#content-acting-on-results-with--exec) [\#](#content-finding-files-with-find "Permalink")Finding files with find ------------------------------------------------------------------------- When I need to track down a file and don't know exactly where it lives, `find` is the workhorse. It walks a directory tree recursively and matches files against the conditions you give it. The basic shape is `find `, where the path is where to start searching. [\#](#content-find-by-name "Permalink")Find by name --------------------------------------------------- Search by filename with `-name`. It matches the exact name, so use shell-style wildcards (quoted, so the shell doesn't expand them first): ``` find . -name '*.log' ``` If case shouldn't matter, use `-iname` instead. This matches `README`, `readme` and `ReadMe`: ``` find . -iname 'readme*' ``` [\#](#content-find-by-type "Permalink")Find by type --------------------------------------------------- Limit results to files or directories with `-type`. Use `f` for regular files and `d` for directories: ``` find /var/www -type f -name '*.php' find /var/www -type d -name 'cache' ``` [\#](#content-find-by-size "Permalink")Find by size --------------------------------------------------- The `-size` flag matches on file size. Suffix the number with `k`, `M` or `G`, and prefix it with `+` for "larger than" or `-` for "smaller than": ``` find . -type f -size +100M ``` This finds files larger than 100 megabytes — handy for hunting down what's eating your disk. [\#](#content-find-by-modification-time "Permalink")Find by modification time ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- `-mtime` matches by how many days ago a file was last modified. `-mtime -7` means changed within the last 7 days, while `+30` means older than 30 days: ``` find /tmp -type f -mtime +30 ``` For finer control, `-mmin` works the same way but in minutes. [\#](#content-searching-a-specific-path "Permalink")Searching a specific path ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The path argument can be anything — an absolute path, a relative one, or several at once: ``` find /etc /opt -name '*.conf' ``` [\#](#content-acting-on-results-with--exec "Permalink")Acting on results with -exec ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beyond listing matches, `find` can run a command on each one with `-exec`. The `{}` is replaced by the filename and `\;` ends the command: ``` find . -name '*.tmp' -type f -exec rm {} \; ``` For deleting specifically, the built-in `-delete` is cleaner and avoids the "[argument list too long](/argument-list-too-long)" error you'd hit with `rm *`: ``` find ./logs -name '*.log' -type f -delete ``` You can chain `find` with other tools too. To search the contents of every matching file, pipe the names into [grep](/search-files-grep-command): ``` find . -name '*.php' -exec grep -l 'TODO' {} \; ``` Combine conditions freely — they're ANDed together — and `find` becomes a precise way to locate exactly the files you're after. ### Subscribe to our newsletter Do you want to receive regular updates with fresh and exclusive content to learn more about web development, hosting, security and performance? Subscribe now! 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