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

# 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

# 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

# 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

# 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

# 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

# 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

# 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

# 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

Output Formatting

# Custom output format using placeholders
fd -e tf --format '{//}'            # Parent directory of each file
fd -e rs --format '{/}'             # Filename without directory
fd -e md --format '{.}'             # Path without extension

# Placeholders:
# {}   - Full path (default)
# {/}  - Basename (filename only)
# {//} - Parent directory
# {.}  - Path without extension
# {/.} - Basename without extension

Integration with Other Tools

# Prefer fd's native execution over xargs when possible:
fd -e log -x rm                     # Delete all log files (native)
fd -e rs -X wc -l                   # Count lines in Rust files (batch)

# Use with rg for powerful search
fd -e py -x rg "import numpy" {}    # Find numpy imports in Python files

# Open files in editor
fd -e md -X nvim                    # Open all Markdown in Neovim (batch)

# When xargs IS useful: complex pipelines or non-fd inputs
cat filelist.txt | xargs rg "TODO"  # Process file from external list

Common Patterns

Development Workflows

# 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

# 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

# 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

Find Directories Containing Specific Files

# Find all directories with Terraform configs
fd -t f 'main\.tf$' --format '{//}'

# Find all directories with package.json
fd -t f '^package\.json$' --format '{//}'

# Find Go module directories
fd -t f '^go\.mod$' --format '{//}'

# Find Python project roots (with pyproject.toml)
fd -t f '^pyproject\.toml$' --format '{//}'

# Find Cargo.toml directories (Rust projects)
fd -t f '^Cargo\.toml$' --format '{//}'

Note: Use --format '{//}' instead of piping to xargs - it's faster and simpler.

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

# Prefer native execution over xargs
fd -e py -x rg "class.*Test" {}     # Find test classes in Python
fd -e rs -x rg "TODO" {}            # Find TODOs in Rust files
fd -e md -x rg "# " {}              # Find headers in Markdown

Use fd's Built-in Execution

# fd can execute directly — no need for xargs
fd -t f 'main\.tf$' --format '{//}'    # Find dirs containing main.tf
fd -e log -x rm                         # Delete all .log files

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'
--format FMT	Custom output format	fd -e tf --format '{//}'

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

# 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

# Find all Terraform/IaC project directories
fd -t f 'main\.tf$' --format '{//}'

# Find all Node.js project roots
fd -t f '^package\.json$' --format '{//}'

This makes fd the preferred tool for fast, intuitive file finding in development workflows.