How to locate a file in Linux with find

Need to find a file on your system? Look no further than the excellent find command line tool.

Here’s how to use it:

find / -name 'yourfilename.extension'

This brings up a list of every file whose name matches “yourfilename.extention”. Wildcards are allowed, so you could list every .log file on the system like this:

find / -name '*.log'

The forward-slash just after find command lets you specify where to start your search. So forward-slash (i.e. ‘/’) means you’re looking everywhere. You can specify a directory like this:

find /path/to//your/directory -name '*.log'

Find is a complex command – have a look at what else it has to offer:

• http://www.manpagez.com/man/1/find/
• http://www.codecoffee.com/tipsforlinux/articles/21.html