1 .TH LOCATE 1 \" -*- nroff -*-
3 locate \- list files in databases that match a pattern
6 [\-d path | \-\-database=path] [\-e | \-\-existing] [\-i | \-\-ignore-case]
7 [\-0 | \-\-null] [\-c | \-\-count] [\-w | \-\-wholename] [\-b | \-\-basename]
8 [\-l N | \-\-limit=N] [\-S | \-\-statistics] [\-\-version]
9 [\-P | \-H | \-\-nofollow] [\-L | \-\-follow] [\-\-help] pattern...
12 documents the GNU version of
14 For each given pattern,
16 searches one or more databases of file names and displays the
17 file names that contain the pattern. Patterns can contain shell-style
18 metacharacters: `*', `?', and `[]'. The metacharacters do not treat
19 `/' or `.' specially. Therefore, a pattern `foo*bar' can match a
20 file name that contains `foo3/bar', and a pattern `*duck*' can match a
21 file name that contains `lake/.ducky'. Patterns that contain
22 metacharacters should be quoted to protect them from expansion by the
25 If a pattern is a plain string \(em it contains no metacharacters \(em
27 displays all file names in the database that contain that string
28 anywhere. If a pattern does contain metacharacters,
30 only displays file names that match the pattern exactly. As a result,
31 patterns that contain metacharacters should usually begin with a `*',
32 and will most often end with one as well. The exceptions are patterns
33 that are intended to explicitly match the beginning or end of a file
36 The file name databases contain lists of files that were on the system
37 when the databases were last updated. The system administrator can
38 choose the file name of the default database, the frequency with which
39 the databases are updated, and the directories for which they contain
40 entries; see \fBupdatedb\fP(1).
44 Instead of printing the matched filenames, just print the total
45 number of matches we found.
47 .I "\-d \fIpath\fP, \-\-database=\fIpath\fP"
48 Instead of searching the default file name database, search the file
49 name databases in \fIpath\fP, which is a colon-separated list of
50 database file names. You can also use the environment variable
52 to set the list of database files to search.
53 The option overrides the environment variable if both are used. Empty
54 elements in the path are taken to be synonyms for the file name of the
57 The file name database format changed starting with GNU
61 version 4.0 to allow machines with diffent byte orderings to share
62 the databases. This version of
64 can automatically recognize and read databases produced for older
71 Support for the old locate database format will be discontinued in a
74 .I "\-e, \-\-existing"
75 Only print out such names that currently exist (instead of such names
76 that existed when the database was created).
77 Note that this may slow down the program a lot, if there are many matches
78 in the database. If you are using this option within a program,
79 please note that it is possible for the file to be deleted after
81 has checked that it exists, but before you use it.
84 If testing for the existence of files (with the \-e option), omit
85 broken symbolic links. This is the default.
87 .I "\-P, \-H, \-\-nofollow"
88 If testing for the existence of files (with the \-e option), treat
89 broken symbolic links count as if they were exiting files. The \-H
90 form of this option is provided purely for similarity with
92 the use of \-P is recommended over \-H.
94 .I "\-i, \-\-ignore-case"
95 Ignore case distinctions in both the pattern and the file names.
97 .I "\-l N, \-\-limit=N"
98 Limit the number of matches to N. If a limit is set via this option,
99 the number of results printed for the \-c option will never be larger
103 Use ASCII NUL as a separator, instead of newline.
105 .I "\-w, \-\-wholename"
106 Match against the whole name of the file as listed in the database.
109 .I "\-b, \-\-basename"
110 Results are considered to match if the pattern specified matches the
111 final component of the name of a file as listed in the database.
112 This final component is usually referred to as the `base name'.
114 .I "\-S, \-\-statistics"
115 Print various statistics about each locate database and then exit
116 without performing a search. Any patterns given on the command line
117 are ignored. For compatibility with BSD, \-S is accepted as a synonym
121 Print a summary of the options to
126 Print the version number of
132 Colon-separated list of databases to search. If the value has a
133 leading or trailing colon, or has two colons in a row, you may get
134 results that vary between different versions of
138 \fBfind\fP(1), \fBlocatedb\fP(5), \fBupdatedb\fP(1), \fBxargs\fP(1)
139 \fBFinding Files\fP (on-line in Info, or printed)
142 The locate database correctly handles filenames containing newlines,
143 but only if the system's sort command has a working
145 option. If you suspect that
147 may need to return filenames containing newlines, consider using its
151 The best way to report a bug is to use the form at
152 http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=findutils.
153 The reason for this is that you will then be able to track progress in
154 fixing the problem. Other comments about \fBlocate\fP(1) and about
155 the findutils package in general can be sent to the
157 mailing list. To join the list, send email to
158 .IR bug-findutils-request@gnu.org .