file-search

name	file-search
description	Fast recursive file search — find files by name, extension, content, or size. Use for locating files in large codebases, finding references, or discovering project structure.

File Search

Overview

Search for files and content across directories using shell commands. Find files by name patterns, search inside files for text/regex, and analyze project structure.

When to Use

• User asks to "find", "search for", or "locate" files
• Looking for where a function, class, or variable is defined
• Finding all files of a certain type
• Searching for specific text across a codebase
• Understanding project structure

Search Commands

Find Files by Name

# Find by exact name
find . -name "config.json" -type f

# Find by extension
find . -name "*.rs" -type f

# Find by pattern (case-insensitive)
find . -iname "*test*" -type f

# Find in specific directory
find src/ -name "*.py" -type f

Search File Contents

# Search for text in all files
grep -rn "function_name" .

# Search with file type filter
grep -rn --include="*.rs" "struct Config" .

# Search case-insensitive
grep -rni "todo\|fixme\|hack" .

# Search with context (3 lines before/after)
grep -rn -C 3 "error_handler" src/

# Search for regex pattern
grep -rn -E "fn\s+\w+\(" src/

Find by Size/Date

# Files larger than 1MB
find . -type f -size +1M

# Files modified in last 7 days
find . -type f -mtime -7

# Files modified today
find . -type f -mtime 0

Project Structure

# Directory tree (2 levels deep)
find . -maxdepth 2 -type d | sort

# Count files by extension
find . -type f | sed 's/.*\.//' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20

# Find largest files
find . -type f -exec ls -la {} \; | sort -k5 -rn | head -20

Common Use Cases

Find Where a Function is Defined

grep -rn "fn function_name\|def function_name\|function function_name" src/

Find All Imports of a Module

grep -rn "import.*module_name\|from module_name\|use.*module_name\|require.*module_name" .

Find TODO/FIXME Comments

grep -rn "TODO\|FIXME\|HACK\|XXX\|WARN" --include="*.rs" --include="*.py" --include="*.ts" .

Find Configuration Files

find . -name "*.json" -o -name "*.yaml" -o -name "*.yml" -o -name "*.toml" -o -name "*.env*" | grep -v node_modules | grep -v target

Best Practices

• Exclude build directories: add --exclude-dir=node_modules --exclude-dir=target --exclude-dir=.git to grep
• Use list_files tool first for simple directory listings
• Use read_file to examine files once found
• Combine find + grep for complex searches
• Use -l flag with grep to get just file names (no content)