locate is used to search for files and directories it is similar to find but only searches on the filename sudo updatedb → updates locate's DB locate aaa.txt → searches for aaa.txt locate *.txt -n 5 → searches for files with txt extension and shows only 5 locate *.TXT -n 5 -i → searches with case insensitive match locate *.TXT -c → returns only the number of matches common options: -l → limits the number -q → quiet mode -r → use regex pattern
b - find command
find command is used to search for files and directories The search is based on various criteria like name, size, date etc. syntax → find [path] [options] [expression] find . -name aaa.txt → searches for file aaa.txt in current directory find . -type d -name dir1 → searches for dir1 name in directories find . -type d -name 'd*' → searches directories starting with d find . -user root → searhes for files/directories owned by root common option: -perm → specifies the permission of the file -group → specifies specific group. -mtime →specifies the modification time -atime → specifies the access time