fd-file-finding

# fd File Finding Expert knowledge for using `fd` as a fast, user-friendly alternative to `find` with smart defaults and powerful filtering. ## Core Expertise **fd Advantages** - Fast parallel execution (written in Rust) - Colorized output by default - Respects `.gitignore` automatically - Smart case-insensitive search - Simpler syntax than `find` - Regular expression support ## Basic Usage ### Simple File Search ```bash # Find all files named config fd config # Find files with extension fd -e rs # All Rust files fd -e md # All Markdown files fd -e js -e ts # JavaScript and TypeScript # Case-sensitive search fd -s Config # Only exact case match ``` ### Pattern Matching ```bash # Regex patterns fd '^test_.*\.py$' # Python test files fd '\.config$' # Files ending in .config fd '^[A-Z]' # Files starting with uppercase # Glob patterns fd '*.lua' # All Lua files fd 'test-*.js' # test-*.js files ``` ## Advanced Filtering ### Type Filtering ```bash # Search only files fd -t f pattern # Files only fd -t d pattern # Directories only fd -t l pattern # Symlinks only fd -t x pattern # Executable files # Multiple types fd -t f -t l pattern # Files and symlinks ``` ### Depth Control ```bash # Limit search depth fd -d 1 pattern # Only current directory fd -d 3 pattern # Max 3 levels deep fd --max-depth 2 pattern # Alternative syntax # Minimum depth fd --min-depth 2 pattern # Skip current directory ``` ### Hidden and Ignored Files ```bash # Include hidden files fd -H pattern # Include hidden files (starting with .) # Include ignored files fd -I pattern # Include .gitignore'd files fd -u pattern # Unrestricted: hidden + ignored # Show all files fd -H -I pattern # Show everything ``` ### Size Filtering ```bash # File size filters fd --size +10m # Files larger than 10 MB fd --size -1k # Files smaller than 1 KB fd --size +100k --size -10m # Between 100 KB and 10 MB ``` ### Modification Time ```bash # Files modified recently fd --changed-within 1d # Last 24 hours fd --changed-within 2w # Last 2 weeks fd --changed-within 3m # Last 3 months # Files modified before fd --changed-before 1y # Older than 1 year ``` ## Execution and Processing ### Execute Commands ```bash # Execute command for each result fd -e jpg -x convert {} {.}.png # Convert all JPG to PNG # Parallel execution fd -e rs -x rustfmt # Format all Rust files # Execute with multiple results fd -e md -X wc -l # Word count on all Markdown files ``` ### Integration with Other Tools ```bash # Pipe to other commands fd -e log | xargs rm # Delete all log files fd -e rs | xargs cat | wc -l # Count lines in Rust files # Use with rg for powerful search fd -e py | xargs rg "import numpy" # Find numpy imports in Python files # Open files in editor fd -e md | xargs nvim # Open all Markdown in Neovim ``` ## Common Patterns ### Development Workflows ```bash # Find test files fd -e test.js -e spec.js # JavaScript tests fd '^test_.*\.py$' # Python tests fd '_test\.go$' # Go tests # Find configuration files fd -g '*.config.js' # Config files fd -g '.env*' # Environment files fd -g '*rc' -H # RC files (include hidden) # Find source files fd -e rs -e toml -t f # Rust project files fd -e py --exclude __pycache__ # Python excluding cache fd -e ts -e tsx src/ # TypeScript in src/ ``` ### Cleanup Operations ```bash # Find and remove fd -e pyc -x rm # Remove Python bytecode fd node_modules -t d -x rm -rf # Remove node_modules fd -g '*.log' --changed-before 30d -X rm # Remove old logs # Find large files fd --size +100m -t f # Files over 100 MB fd --size +1g -t f -x du -h # Size of files over 1 GB ``` ### Path-Based Search ```bash # Search in specific directories fd pattern src/ # Only in src/ fd pattern src/ tests/ # Multiple directories # Exclude paths fd -e rs -E target/ # Exclude target directory fd -e js -E node_modules -E dist # Exclude multiple paths # Full path matching fd -p src/components/.*\.tsx$ # Match full path ``` ## Best Practices **When to Use fd** - Finding files by name or pattern - Searching with gitignore awareness - Fast directory traversal - Type-specific searches - Time-based file queries **When to Use find Instead** - Complex boolean logic - POSIX compatibility required - Advanced permission checks - Non-standard file attributes **Performance Tips** - Use `-j 1` for sequential search if order matters - Combine with `--max-depth` to limit scope - Use `-t f` to skip directory processing - Leverage gitignore for faster searches in repos **Integration with rg** ```bash # Two-step search: find files, then search content fd -e py | xargs rg "class.*Test" # Find test classes in Python fd -e rs | xargs rg "TODO" # Find TODOs in Rust files fd -e md | xargs rg "# " # Find headers in Markdown ``` ## Quick Reference ### Essential Options | Option | Purpose | Example | |--------|---------|---------| | `-e EXT` | Filter by extension | `fd -e rs` | | `-t TYPE` | Filter by type (f/d/l/x) | `fd -t d` | | `-d DEPTH` | Max search depth | `fd -d 3` | | `-H` | Include hidden files | `fd -H .env` | | `-I` | Include ignored files | `fd -I build` | | `-u` | Unrestricted (no ignore) | `fd -u pattern` | | `-E PATH` | Exclude path | `fd -E node_modules` | | `-x CMD` | Execute command | `fd -e log -x rm` | | `-X CMD` | Batch execute | `fd -e md -X cat` | | `-s` | Case-sensitive | `fd -s Config` | | `-g GLOB` | Glob pattern | `fd -g '*.json'` | ### Time Units - `s` = seconds - `m` = minutes - `h` = hours - `d` = days - `w` = weeks - `y` = years ### Size Units - `b` = bytes - `k` = kilobytes - `m` = megabytes - `g` = gigabytes - `t` = terabytes ## Common Command Patterns ```bash # Find recently modified source files fd -e rs --changed-within 1d # Find large files in current directory fd -d 1 -t f --size +10m # Find executable scripts fd -t x -e sh # Find config files including hidden fd -H -g '*config*' # Find and count lines fd -e py -X wc -l # Find files excluding build artifacts fd -e js -E dist -E node_modules -E build ``` This makes fd the preferred tool for fast, intuitive file finding in development workflows.