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] [\-\-help] pattern...
11 documents the GNU version of
13 For each given pattern,
15 searches one or more databases of file names and displays the
16 file names that contain the pattern. Patterns can contain shell-style
17 metacharacters: `*', `?', and `[]'. The metacharacters do not treat
18 `/' or `.' specially. Therefore, a pattern `foo*bar' can match a
19 file name that contains `foo3/bar', and a pattern `*duck*' can match a
20 file name that contains `lake/.ducky'. Patterns that contain
21 metacharacters should be quoted to protect them from expansion by the
24 If a pattern is a plain string \(em it contains no metacharacters \(em
26 displays all file names in the database that contain that string
27 anywhere. If a pattern does contain metacharacters,
29 only displays file names that match the pattern exactly. As a result,
30 patterns that contain metacharacters should usually begin with a `*',
31 and will most often end with one as well. The exceptions are patterns
32 that are intended to explicitly match the beginning or end of a file
35 The file name databases contain lists of files that were on the system
36 when the databases were last updated. The system administrator can
37 choose the file name of the default database, the frequency with which
38 the databases are updated, and the directories for which they contain
39 entries; see \fBupdatedb\fP(1).
43 Instead of printing the matched filenames, just print the total
44 number of matches we found.
46 .I "\-d \fIpath\fP, \-\-database=\fIpath\fP"
47 Instead of searching the default file name database, search the file
48 name databases in \fIpath\fP, which is a colon-separated list of
49 database file names. You can also use the environment variable
51 to set the list of database files to search.
52 The option overrides the environment variable if both are used. Empty
53 elements in the path are taken to be synonyms for the file name of the
56 The file name database format changed starting with GNU
60 version 4.0 to allow machines with diffent byte orderings to share
61 the databases. This version of
63 can automatically recognize and read databases produced for older
70 Support for the old locate database format will be discontinued in a
73 .I "\-e, \-\-existing"
74 Only print out such names that currently exist (instead of such names
75 that existed when the database was created).
76 Note that this may slow down the program a lot, if there are many matches
77 in the database. If you are using this option within a program,
78 please note that it is possible for the file to be deleted after
80 has checked that it exists, but before you use it.
82 .I "\-i, \-\-ignore-case"
83 Ignore case distinctions in both the pattern and the file names.
85 .I "\-l N, \-\-limit=N"
86 Limit the number of matches to N. If a limit is set via this option,
87 the number of results printed for the \-c option will never be larger
91 Use ASCII NUL as a separator, instead of newline.
93 .I "\-w, \-\-wholename"
94 Match against the whole name of the file as listed in the database.
97 .I "\-b, \-\-basename"
98 Results are considered to match if the pattern specified matches the
99 final component of the name of a file as listed in the database.
100 This final component is usually referred to as the `base name'.
103 Print various statistics about each locate database and then exit
104 without performing a search. Any patterns given on the command line
105 are ignored. For compatibility with BSD, \-S is accepted as a synonym
109 Print a summary of the options to
114 Print the version number of
120 Colon-separated list of databases to search. If the value has a
121 leading or trailing colon, or has two colons in a row, you may get
122 results that vary between different versions of
126 \fBfind\fP(1), \fBlocatedb\fP(5), \fBupdatedb\fP(1), \fBxargs\fP(1)
127 \fBFinding Files\fP (on-line in Info, or printed)
130 The locate database correctly handles filenames containing newlines,
131 but only if the system's sort command has a working
133 option. If you suspect that
135 may need to return filenames containing newlines, consider using its
139 The best way to report a bug is to use the form at
140 http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=findutils.
141 The reason for this is that you will then be able to track progress in
142 fixing the problem. Other comments about \fBlocate\fP(1) and about
143 the findutils package in general can be sent to the
145 mailing list. To join the list, send email to
146 .IR bug-findutils-request@gnu.org .