35 Essential Linux Find Command Tricks You Must Master
This guide walks you through 35 practical examples of the Linux find command, covering name‑based searches, permission filters, owner/group criteria, date ranges, size limits, and deletion techniques, helping sysadmins efficiently locate and manage files and directories.
Linux's find command is one of the most important and frequently used tools for searching files and directories based on various criteria such as name, permissions, owner, group, date, size, and more.
Part 1 – Basic Name‑Based Searches
1. Find files named test.c in the current directory
2. Find files named test under the home directory
3. Find files named test ignoring case
4. Find directories named test
5. Find PHP files named test.PHP
6. Find all PHP files in a directory
Part 2 – Permission‑Based Searches
7. Find files with permission 777
8. Find files without permission 777
9. Find SGID files with permission 644
10. Find Sticky Bit files with permission 551
11. Find SUID files
12. Find SGID files
13. Find read‑only files
14. Find executable files
15. Find files with permission 777 and chmod to 644
16. Find directories with permission 777 and chmod to 755
17. Find and delete a single file
18. Find and delete multiple files (e.g., .mp3 or .txt)
19. Find all empty files
20. Find all empty directories
21. Find all hidden files
Part 3 – Owner and Group Based Searches
22. Find files owned by root named test.c under /root
23. Find all files belonging to user neil in the home directory
24. Find all files belonging to group Developer under /home
25. Find all .txt files of user neil in the home directory
Part 4 – Date‑Based Searches
26. Find files modified in the last 50 days
27. Find files accessed in the last 50 days
28. Find files modified between 50 and 100 days ago
29. Find files changed in the past hour
30. Find files modified in the past hour
31. Find files accessed in the past hour
Part 5 – Size‑Based Searches
32. Find files larger than 50 MB
33. Find files between 50 MB and 100 MB
34. Find and delete all 100 MB files
35. Find and delete specific large files (e.g., .mp3 over 10 MB)
These 35 examples cover most common usages of the find command; feel free to share any additional tips in the comments.
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