`find` Command Cheatsheet

The find command is used to recursively search for files and directories within a specified location based on a variety of criteria. It is one of the most powerful and versatile commands for file system navigation.

Common Syntax

find [PATH] [OPTIONS] [EXPRESSION]

The `PATH` is the directory where the search starts. `OPTIONS` control the search behavior, and `EXPRESSION` is the set of criteria used to filter the results.

Search by Name

Command	Description
`find . -name "file.txt"`	Finds files named exactly "file.txt" in the current directory and its subdirectories. Use quotes to prevent shell globbing.
`find . -name "*.log"`	Finds all files with a `.log` extension. The asterisk (`*`) is a wildcard.
`find . -iname "file.txt"`	Case-insensitive version of the `-name` option.

Search by Type

Command	Description
`find . -type f`	Finds only regular files.
`find . -type d`	Finds only directories.
`find . -type l`	Finds only symbolic links.

Combining Search Criteria

By default, `find` uses a logical AND (`-a`) operator between expressions. You can use `-o` for OR.

Command	Description
`find . -name ".txt" -o -name ".log"`	Finds files that end with either `.txt` OR `.log`.
`find . -type f -name "*.txt"`	Finds files that are both a regular file AND end with `.txt`.

Executing a Command on Results

The `-exec` option allows you to execute a command on each file found by `find`.

find . -name "*.txt" -exec rm {} \;