LOCATE(1L)LOCATE(1L)NAME
locate - list files in databases that match a pattern
SYNOPSIS
locate [-d path] [--database=path] [--version] [--help] pattern...
DESCRIPTION
This manual page documents the GNU version of locate. For each given
pattern, locate searches one or more databases of file names and dis‐
plays the file names that contain the pattern. Patterns can contain
shell-style metacharacters: `*', `?', and `[]'. The metacharacters do
not treat `/' or `.' specially. Therefore, a pattern `foo*bar' can
match a file name that contains `foo3/bar', and a pattern `*duck*' can
match a file name that contains `lake/.ducky'. Patterns that contain
metacharacters should be quoted to protect them from expansion by the
shell.
If a pattern is a plain string — it contains no metacharacters — locate
displays all file names in the database that contain that string any‐
where. If a pattern does contain metacharacters, locate only displays
file names that match the pattern exactly. As a result, patterns that
contain metacharacters should usually begin with a `*', and will most
often end with one as well. The exceptions are patterns that are
intended to explicitly match the beginning or end of a file name.
The file name databases contain lists of files that were on the system
when the databases were last updated. The system administrator can
choose the file name of the default database, the frequency with which
the databases are updated, and the directories for which they contain
entries; see updatedb(1L).
OPTIONS-d path, --database=path
Instead of searching the default file name database, search the
file name databases in path, which is a colon-separated list of
database file names. You can also use the environment variable
LOCATE_PATH to set the list of database files to search. The
option overrides the environment variable if both are used.
The file name database format changed starting with GNU find and locate
version 4.0 to allow machines with diffent byte orderings to share the
databases. This version of locate can automatically recognize and read
databases produced for older versions of GNU locate or Unix versions of
locate or find.
--help Print a summary of the options to locate and exit.
--version
Print the version number of locate and exit.
ENVIRONMENT
LOCATE_PATH
Colon-separated list of databases to search.
SEE ALSOfind(1L), locatedb(5L), updatedb(1L), xargs(1L) Finding Files (on-line
in Info, or printed)
LOCATE(1L)
