Search for specific file type on mac manual#

The specifics of these options can be found in the manual page of the “find” command, and there are a number of additional options you can use to filter by details such as permissions settings, extended attributes, and even execute additional scripts on only the found items.

The example above will start at the desktop of my account, and find any file named “myfile.txt.” In addition to the “-name” flag, you can use others such as “-size” to specify a file size, or “-type” to specify the file type (specifically a file, or a directory, or a link). find /Users/tkessler/Desktop/ -name myfile.txt When executed, it will walk the folder hierarchy from that specified point and output the full paths to the files that match your search criteria. To use it at its basics, you specify the location to start your search, and then options like file names and file types. This command is the straightforward option for finding files on Unix-based systems. When run, these commands will search for a specific query and then output the full path to all resulting files that fall within the scope of your search. The three that will be most useful in OS X are the “find” command, the “mdfind” command, and the “locate” command.

Search for specific file type on mac how to#

In the Terminal, as with all tasks, finding files requires you know how to use a few basic commands. In the OS X GUI, you simply have to invoke a Finder search by pressing Command-F, or invoke Spotlight with Command-Space, and then use these services to search for files not only by name, but also by content. Granted some of these more advanced features of the terminal require extensive experience, but if you are just getting started, then you might wonder how you simply find files in the Terminal. The Terminal in OS X is a relatively powerful environment, where you have access to a number of scriptable tools that can help you configure, gather information, and otherwise use your Mac in ways that you cannot otherwise do with a mouse and graphical elements.