find by name, type, and size in Linux CLI - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Sometimes you need to locate files on your computer based on their name, type, or size. The Linux find command helps you search for files that match these conditions quickly and easily.

When you want to find all text files named report.txt in your documents folder.

When you need to locate all directories named backup on your system.

When you want to find files larger than 10 megabytes to free up disk space.

When you want to list all executable files in a specific folder.

When you want to combine conditions, like finding all log files larger than 5MB.

Commands

This command searches in /home/user/documents for files named exactly report.txt.

Terminal

find /home/user/documents -name "report.txt"

Expected Output

/home/user/documents/project/report.txt

/home/user/documents/old_reports/report.txt

→

-name - Search files by exact name pattern.

This command finds directories (-type d) named backup anywhere under /home/user.

Terminal

find /home/user -type d -name "backup"

Expected Output

/home/user/documents/backup

/home/user/backup

→

-type d - Limit search to directories only.

→

-name - Match directory name.

This command finds files (-type f) larger than 10 megabytes (+10M) in /var/log.

Terminal

find /var/log -type f -size +10M

Expected Output

/var/log/large_log1.log

/var/log/large_log2.log

→

-type f - Limit search to files only.

→

-size +10M - Find files larger than 10 megabytes.

This command lists all executable files in /usr/local/bin.

Terminal

find /usr/local/bin -type f -executable

Expected Output

/usr/local/bin/script1

/usr/local/bin/tool

→

-type f - Limit search to files.

→

-executable - Find files with execute permission.

This command finds all log files larger than 5 megabytes in /home/user/logs.

Terminal

find /home/user/logs -type f -name "*.log" -size +5M

Expected Output

/home/user/logs/error.log

/home/user/logs/access.log

→

-type f - Search files only.

→

-name - Match files ending with .log.

→

-size +5M - Files larger than 5 megabytes.

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: the find command lets you combine name, type, and size filters to pinpoint exactly the files or directories you need.

Common Mistakes

Using -name without quotes around the pattern

The shell may expand wildcards before find runs, causing unexpected results.

Always put the pattern in quotes, like -name "*.txt".

Using -size 10M instead of +10M or -10M

-size 10M finds files exactly 10 megabytes, which is rare and often not what you want.

Use +10M to find files larger than 10MB or -10M for smaller than 10MB.

Not specifying -type when searching by name

You might get both files and directories matching the name, which can be confusing.

Add -type f for files or -type d for directories to narrow results.

Summary

Use find with -name to search files or directories by their name.

Add -type f or -type d to limit results to files or directories.

Use -size with + or - and a size unit (c, k, M, G) to filter by file size.