Linux Find and Locate Cheat Sheet

find /var/log -name 'syslog'

# Search recursively for a specific filename.

find . -iname '*.jpg'

# Match names regardless of case.

find . -type d -name 'node_modules'

# Restrict results to directories.

find /etc -type l

# List symlink entries under a directory.

find / -type f -size +100M 2>/dev/null

# Search for large files using size filters.

find . -type f -mtime -1

# Use mtime to find recently modified files.

find . -type f -atime +30

# Identify stale files.

find . -type f -newer reference.txt

# Compare timestamps using a reference path.

find /var/www -type f -perm -002

# Audit overly permissive files.

find /home -user alice

# Search by owner name.

find /srv -group www-data

# Search by group ownership.

find / -nouser 2>/dev/null

# Audit orphaned ownership.

find /tmp -type f -name '*.tmp' -delete

# Remove matching files directly from find.

find . -type f -name '*.sh' -exec chmod +x {} +

# Execute a command on each result.

locate nginx.conf

# Search quickly using updatedb database.

sudo updatedb

# Update file index used by locate.