How To Find A File In Ubuntu Using The Terminal?

Linux is a different operating system and often time you need to use the terminal. It is essential to operate the terminal for various reasons. Finding files is one of them. The ability to find files quickly and easily in Ubuntu can be an essential skill.

Whether you need to locate a configuration file for a specific application, find a document you’ve been working on, or search for a specific type of file across your entire system, Ubuntu provides a variety of tools to help you find the files you need.

In this article, I will show you how you can find files in Ubuntu using the terminal and some advanced search techniques that can help you locate files based on specific criteria such as file type, size, or ownership. By the end of this article, you’ll have a solid understanding of how to find files in Ubuntu and be able to quickly locate any file you need.

Why Do You Need To Find Files In The Terminal?

There are several reasons why you might need to find files in the terminal:

1. You have a large number of files: When you have a large number of files in a directory, it can be difficult to find the one you need. The terminal provides tools to search for files based on specific criteria, such as file name, modification date, or size, making it easier to locate the file you need.
2. You need to perform a batch operation on files: If you need to perform the same operation on multiple files, such as renaming or deleting them, it can be more efficient to use the terminal’s file-finding tools rather than performing the operation on each file individually.
3. You are working on a remote server: When you are working on a remote server via SSH, using a graphical file manager may not be an option. In this case, the terminal’s file-finding tools can be a useful way to search for files on the remote server.
4. You need to search for files based on specific criteria: The terminal provides powerful tools to search for files based on specific criteria such as file type, ownership, or permissions. This can be useful when you need to locate files with specific characteristics, such as all executable files in a directory.
5. You want to automate file operations: When you need to automate file operations, such as backing up or moving files, the terminal’s file-finding tools can be a useful way to select the files you want to operate on.

The terminal provides a variety of powerful tools to find files based on specific criteria, making it easier to locate the files you need quickly and efficiently. Whether you’re working with a large number of files, need to perform batch operations, or want to automate file operations, the terminal’s file-finding tools can be a valuable resource.

What Commands Can Be Used To Search For Files?

You can use these 2 tools or Linux commands to find files in the Ubuntu terminal.

‘find’ Command

The find command is a powerful utility in Linux and Unix systems that allows you to search for files and directories in a directory hierarchy based on various criteria. It can be used to search for files based on file names, size, date of modification, permissions, owner, group, and more.

It searches recursively through directories and subdirectories of the specified directory, looking for files or directories that match the search criteria specified by the user. When it finds a file or directory that matches the search criteria, it prints the path of the file or directory to the terminal.

‘locate’ Command

The locate command allows you to quickly search for files and directories on the system using a pre-built database of filenames and their paths. This pre-built database is updated periodically by the updatedb command, which indexes the file system.

The locate command is very fast because it searches through this database, rather than searching through the file system in real time. This makes it an efficient way to locate files and directories on the system.

It is important to note that the locate command may not always show the most up-to-date results, as it depends on the updatedb command to update the database. In addition, it may not show files or directories that have been recently created or modified.

Find A File In Ubuntu Using The ‘find’ Command

Find is a powerful search tool that has many options to effectively search files on a Linux system. Here are the most commonly used options for the find command:

• -name: search for files by name
• -iname: search for files by name based on case-insensitive
• -type f: search for files
• -type d: search for directories
• -size: search for files of a specific size
• -perm: search for files with specific permissions
• -user: search for files owned by a specific user
• -group: search for files owned by a specific group
• -mtime: search for files modified within a specific time range
• -atime: search for files accessed within a specific time range
• -ctime: search for files created within a specific time range
• -exec: execute a command on the files that match the search criteria
• -print: display the name of the files that match the search criteria
• -delete: delete the files that match the search criteria
• -maxdepth: limit the depth of the search
• -mindepth: specify the minimum depth of the search
• -regex: search for files based on a regular expression
• -iregex: search for files based on a case-insensitive regular expression
• -empty: search for empty files or directories
• -mount: do not search for files on a different file system
• -follow: follow symbolic links
• -exclude: exclude files or directories from the search

These options can be combined and customized to create powerful and flexible search queries. Here are some examples of how to use the find command in Ubuntu:

Search for a file by name:

find /home/sbm/Downloads -name MyFile.txt

This command will search for a file named MyFile.txt in the /home/sbm/Downloads directory and all of its subdirectories.

Search for a file by name based on case-insensitive:

find /home/sbm/Downloads -iname myfile.txt

This command will search for a file named myfile.txt in the /home/sbm/Downloads directory and all of its subdirectories based on case-insensitive.

Search for files using a wildcard:

find /home/sbm/Downloads -name '*.txt'

This command will search for all the .txt files in the /home/sbm/Downloads directory and all of its subdirectories.

Search for a file by name non-recursively:

find /home/sbm/Downloads -maxdepth 1 -name myfile.txt

This command will search for a file named myfile.txt in the /home/sbm/Downloads directory only.

Search for files modified within a specific time range:

find /var/log -type f -mtime -7 -mtime +3

This command will search for files in the /var/log directory that were modified between 3 and 7 days ago.

Search for files based on their size:

find /var/log -type f -size +1M

This command will search for files in the /var/log directory that are larger than 1 megabyte.

Search for directories based on their name:

find / -type d -name MyDir

This command will search for directories named MyDir in the entire file system.

Search for files based on their permissions:

find /home -type f -perm 644

This command will search for files in the /home directory and its subdirectories that have the permission 644.

Search for files based on their owner:

find /var/log -type f -user root

This command will search for files in the /var/log directory that are owned by the root user.

Search for files and execute a command on them:

find /home -type f -name "*.txt" -print -exec grep "hello" {} \;

This command will search for all files in the /home directory and its subdirectories that have the extension .txt, and then execute the grep command on each of these files to search for the pattern “hello“.

These are just a few examples of the many ways in which the find command can be used. The command is highly customizable and can be used to search for files and directories based on many different criteria.

Find A File In Ubuntu Using The ‘locate’ Command

You can also use the locate command to search for files in Ubuntu. The locate command is faster than find command as it searches for files using a pre-built database. But it may not show the most up-to-date file system as it does not search for files in real-time. The database must be updated for actual results.

Install locate in Ubuntu

The locate utility is not installed by default in Ubuntu. You need to install it first. Use the following command to install it.

sudo apt install locate

Update the locate database

After installing the locate utility, update the database using the following command.

sudo updatedb

Use locate command to find a file

The general syntax for this is:

locate -i [file-name]

Where -i is used for case-insensitive.

For example, I am going to search for files named “rockyou”. So, I use the following command in Terminal:

locate -i rockyou

It will search for all the files named “rockyou” in the system.

Use locate command to search for multiple files

If you want to search multiple files, you can do that using the following syntax.

locate -i File1 File2 File3

For example, I search for 3 different files using the following command.

locate -i rockyou NewText.txt Logo.png

Use locate command to search for files using wildcards

You can also use wildcards to search for the specific file type. For example, I can search for all the .png files using the following command.

locate -i *.png

Find a file in a specific directory

The general syntax for this is:

locate /path/to/directory -i [file-name]

For example, I am going to search the /home/sbm/Downloads directory for the files named “rockyou”. So, I use the following command in Terminal:

locate /home/sbm/Downloads -i rockyou

It will search for the file named “rockyou” in this directory.

Conclusion

In summary, the find command is a powerful and versatile tool for searching for files on your system. It offers a wide range of options to customize your search criteria, including by name, type, size, and permissions, among others. Additionally, the locate command can also be useful for finding files. Even though you need to use an updated database to get the most up-to-date results. By mastering these tools, you can become a more efficient and productive Linux user.