find Cheatsheet

By Dejan Panovski •Updated on Feb 10, 2026 • Download PDF

Quick reference for common Linux find command patterns

Find searches for files and directories based on name, type, size, time, and permissions. This cheatsheet covers practical find patterns for everyday Linux administration.

Basic Search

Find files and directories by name.

Command	Description
`find . -name "file.txt"`	Find an exact filename
`find . -iname "readme.md"`	Case-insensitive name search
`find /etc -name "*.conf"`	Find by extension
`find . -type d -name "backup"`	Find directories by name

Filter by Type

Limit results to file system object type.

Command	Description
`find . -type f`	Regular files only
`find . -type d`	Directories only
`find . -type l`	Symlinks only
`find . -type f -name "*.log"`	Files with a specific extension
`find . -maxdepth 1 -type f`	Search current directory only
`find . -type f -empty`	Find empty files
`find . -type d -empty`	Find empty directories

Size Filters

Find files by size.

Command	Description
`find . -type f -size +100M`	Larger than 100 MB
`find . -type f -size -10M`	Smaller than 10 MB
`find . -type f -size 1G`	Exactly 1 GB
`find /var -type f -size +500M`	Large files under `/var`

Time Filters

Filter by file modification, access, and change times.

Command	Description
`find . -type f -mtime -7`	Modified in last 7 days
`find . -type f -mtime +30`	Modified more than 30 days ago
`find . -type f -atime -1`	Accessed in last 24 hours
`find . -type f -ctime -3`	Metadata changed in last 3 days
`find . -type f -mmin -60`	Modified in last 60 minutes

Permissions and Ownership

Find files based on permissions and owners.

Command	Description
`find . -type f -perm 644`	Exact permission match
`find . -type f -perm -u+w`	User-writable files
`find / -type f -user root`	Files owned by user
`find /srv -type f -group www-data`	Files owned by group

Excluding Paths

Skip directories from search results.

Command	Description
`find . -path ./node_modules -prune -o -type f -print`	Exclude one directory
`find . \( -path ./node_modules -o -path ./.git \) -prune -o -type f -print`	Exclude multiple directories
`find . -type f ! -name "*.log"`	Exclude one filename pattern
`find . -type f ! -path "/cache/"`	Exclude by path pattern

Actions (`-exec`, `-delete`)

Run commands on matched files.

Command	Description
`find . -type f -name "*.tmp" -delete`	Delete matches
`find . -type f -name "*.log" -exec gzip {} \;`	Run command per file
`find . -type f -name "*.jpg" -exec mv {} /tmp/images/ \;`	Move matched files
`find . -type f -name "*.conf" -exec grep -H "listen" {} \;`	Search text in matched files
`find . -type f -name "*.log" -exec rm {} +`	Batch delete (faster than `\;`)

Safer Bulk Operations

Use null-delimited output for safe piping.

Command	Description
`find . -type f -name "*.txt" -print0 \| xargs -0 rm -f`	Safely remove files with spaces
`find . -type f -print0 \| xargs -0 ls -lh`	Safe batch listing
`find . -type f -name "*.log" -print0 \| xargs -0 du -h`	Safe size report for matches
`find . -type f -name "*.bak" -print0 \| xargs -0 -I{} mv "{}" /tmp/backup/`	Safe batch move

Common Options

Useful flags to remember.

Option	Description
`-name`	Match filename (case-sensitive)
`-iname`	Match filename (case-insensitive)
`-type`	Filter by file type
`-size`	Filter by size
`-mtime`	Filter by modification time (days)
`-maxdepth`	Limit recursion depth
`-mindepth`	Skip top levels
`-prune`	Exclude directories
`-exec`	Execute command on matches
`-empty`	Find empty files/directories
`-mmin`	Filter by modification time (minutes)
`-delete`	Delete matched files

Basic Search #

Filter by Type #

Size Filters #

Time Filters #

Permissions and Ownership #

Excluding Paths #

Actions (-exec, -delete) #

Safer Bulk Operations #

Common Options #