How do I find large files with find?

find . -type f -size +100M finds files over 100 MB. Add -exec ls -lh {} + to see their sizes, or pipe to sort.

find Command Generator — Build & Decode Linux find Commands

Q: How do I find files by name in Linux?

find . -name '*.txt' searches the current directory recursively for files ending in .txt. Add -type f to skip directories, or -iname to ignore case.

Q: How do I find and delete files older than 30 days?

find /path -type f -mtime +30 -delete. Run it without -delete first to preview what matches before anything is removed.

Q: What does {} \; mean in find -exec?

{} is replaced by each matching path, and \; tells find the command has ended. Swap \; for + to run the command once on a batch of files instead of one at a time.

The find syntax is famously unmemorable. Pick what you're searching for and get the exact command — with every predicate explained. Or paste a find command to decode it. Runs entirely in your browser, no signup.

How find reads, left to right

find takes a starting path, then a chain of tests (type, name, size, time…) that each file must pass, and finally an action (-print, -delete, -exec). So find . -type f -name '*.log' -delete reads as "starting here, for every regular file whose name matches *.log, delete it." Tests with no action default to printing the path.

The two that trip everyone up

Always quote name patterns. -name '*.log' with quotes lets find do the matching. Without quotes the shell expands *.log first and you get confusing errors.
-mtime signs are backwards from intuition. -mtime -7 means "modified within the last 7 days"; -mtime +30 means "older than 30 days". No sign means "exactly N days ago".

Gotchas worth knowing

-exec … {} \; runs once per file; {} + batches them. The {} is replaced by each match and \; ends the command. Using + instead of \; passes many files at once — far faster for big trees.
-delete has no undo. Always run the same find without -delete first to see exactly what it would remove.
-maxdepth must come before other tests on some systems, or you get a warning. Put it right after the path to be safe.
Size units matter. -size +100M is megabytes; bare numbers are 512-byte blocks, which surprises people. Use c for exact bytes.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find files by name in Linux?

find . -name '*.txt' searches the current directory recursively for files ending in .txt. Add -type f to skip directories, or -iname to ignore case.

How do I find and delete files older than 30 days?

find /path -type f -mtime +30 -delete. Run it without -delete first to preview what matches before anything is removed.

How do I find large files?

find . -type f -size +100M finds files over 100 MB. Pipe to sort or add -exec ls -lh {} + to see their sizes.

What does {} \; mean in find -exec?

{} is replaced by each matching path, and \; tells find the command has ended. Swap \; for + to run the command once on a batch of files.

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