find by name, type, and size in Linux CLI - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What does the find command do in Linux?

The find command searches for files and directories in a directory hierarchy based on conditions like name, type, or size.

beginner

How do you use find to search for files by name?

Use find [path] -name "filename". For example, find . -name "report.txt" finds files named 'report.txt' in the current directory and subdirectories.

beginner

What option do you use with find to search by file type?

Use -type followed by a letter: f for files, d for directories. Example: find . -type d finds directories.

beginner

How can you find files larger than 1 megabyte using find?

Use -size +1M. For example, find . -size +1M finds files bigger than 1 megabyte.

intermediate

Write a find command to find all regular files named 'log.txt' larger than 500 kilobytes.

Command: find . -type f -name "log.txt" -size +500k. This finds files named 'log.txt' that are regular files and bigger than 500 KB.

Which find option searches for directories?

A -type d

B -name d

C -size d

D -type f

The option -type d searches for directories.

How do you find files named exactly 'data.csv' in the current directory and subdirectories?

A find . -name "data.csv"

B find . -type f -size data.csv

C find . -type d -name "data.csv"

D find . -size +data.csv

Use find . -name "data.csv" to find files by name.

What does -size +10M mean in a find command?

A Files exactly 10 megabytes

B Files larger than 10 megabytes

C Files smaller than 10 megabytes

D Files with 10 megabytes of free space

+10M means files larger than 10 megabytes.

Which command finds all regular files larger than 100 kilobytes?

A find . -name "100k"

B find . -type d -size +100k

C find . -size -100k

D find . -type f -size +100k

Use -type f for files and -size +100k for files larger than 100 KB.

What does the command find /tmp -type f -name "*.log" -size -1M do?

A Finds log files larger than 1 MB in /tmp

B Finds all files in /tmp

C Finds log files smaller than 1 MB in /tmp

D Finds directories named '*.log' in /tmp

It finds regular files ending with '.log' smaller than 1 megabyte in /tmp.

Explain how to use the find command to search for files by name, type, and size.

Think about combining options like -name, -type, and -size in one command.

Describe a real-life scenario where you would use find with name, type, and size filters.

Imagine managing files on your computer or server.

Practice

1. What does the find command option -name do in Linux CLI?

easy

A. Searches files or directories by their name pattern

B. Filters files by their size

C. Lists all files in the current directory

D. Changes the name of a file

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the -name option

   The -name option in the find command is used to search for files or directories that match a specific name pattern.

2. Step 2: Compare with other options

   Options like filtering by size or listing files are done with other flags, not -name.

3. Final Answer:

   Searches files or directories by their name pattern -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   -name = Search by name [OK]

Hint: Remember: -name matches file names exactly [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing -name with size filters
• Thinking -name lists files
• Using -name to rename files

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to find all regular files named report.txt in the current directory and its subdirectories?

easy

A. find . -type f -name report.txt

B. find . -name "report.txt" -type d

C. find . -type f -name "report.txt"

D. find / -type f -name report.txt

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the syntax for find

   The correct syntax requires the path (here . for current directory), the type -type f for regular files, and the name pattern with quotes -name "report.txt" to match the exact file name.

2. Step 2: Check each option

   find . -type f -name report.txt misses quotes around the name, which can cause issues with special characters. find . -name "report.txt" -type d searches for directories (-type d) not files. find / -type f -name report.txt searches from root /, not current directory. find . -type f -name "report.txt" is correct with quotes and correct type.

3. Final Answer:

   find . -type f -name "report.txt" -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Quotes + correct type + current dir = find . -type f -name "report.txt" [OK]

Hint: Always quote the name pattern to avoid shell issues [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Omitting quotes around the name
• Using wrong type flag (-type d instead of -type f)
• Searching from wrong directory

3. What will be the output of the command find /tmp -type f -size +1M -name "*.log" assuming there are two files: /tmp/app.log (500K) and /tmp/error.log (2M)?

medium

A. /tmp/app.log
/tmp/error.log

B. /tmp/error.log

C. /tmp/app.log

D. " (no output)

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the command filters

   The command searches in /tmp for regular files (-type f) with size greater than 1 megabyte (-size +1M) and names ending with .log (-name "*.log").

2. Step 2: Apply filters to given files

   /tmp/app.log is 500K, which is less than 1M, so excluded. /tmp/error.log is 2M, which matches size and name filters, so included.

3. Final Answer:

   /tmp/error.log -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Size +1M and name *.log = /tmp/error.log [OK]

Hint: Size +1M means files larger than 1 megabyte [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Including files smaller than 1M
• Ignoring the name pattern
• Confusing +1M with exactly 1M

4. You run the command find . -type f -name *.txt -size -10k but get an error or unexpected results. What is the likely problem?

medium

A. The command needs sudo to run

B. Wrong size flag; should be +10k instead of -10k

C. Using -type f instead of -type d

D. Missing quotes around *.txt causing shell expansion

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the issue with -name pattern

   The pattern *.txt without quotes is expanded by the shell before find runs, causing unexpected behavior or errors.

2. Step 2: Correct usage with quotes

   Enclosing *.txt in quotes like "*.txt" prevents shell expansion and lets find correctly match file names.

3. Final Answer:

   Missing quotes around *.txt causing shell expansion -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Always quote patterns in -name [OK]

Hint: Quote wildcards in -name to avoid shell expansion [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Not quoting the name pattern
• Confusing size flags + and -
• Using wrong type flag

5. You want to find all directories named backup larger than 100MB inside /var. Which command correctly achieves this?

hard

A. find /var -type d -name "backup" -size +100M -exec du -sh {} \;

B. find /var -type d -name "backup" -size +100M

C. find /var -type d -name "backup" -exec du -sh {} \; | awk '$1 > 100M'

D. find /var -type d -name "backup" -size +100M -size +100M

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand find limitations on directory size

   The -size option measures file size, but for directories it measures disk usage metadata, not total content size.

2. Step 2: Use -exec du -sh to get actual directory size

   find /var -type d -name "backup" -size +100M -exec du -sh {} \; uses -exec du -sh {} to show human-readable size of each directory found, which helps verify size over 100MB.

3. Step 3: Confirm correct filtering

   find /var -type d -name "backup" -size +100M incorrectly uses -size +100M on directories which is unreliable. find /var -type d -name "backup" -exec du -sh {} \; | awk '$1 > 100M' tries to filter with awk but size format is not numeric only. find /var -type d -name "backup" -size +100M -size +100M repeats -size +100M unnecessarily.

4. Final Answer:

   find /var -type d -name "backup" -size +100M -exec du -sh {} \; -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   Use -exec du -sh to check directory sizes [OK]

Hint: Use du with -exec to measure directory size [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Relying on -size for directory content size
• Not quoting the name pattern
• Repeating size filters unnecessarily