NAME
locate —
find files
SYNOPSIS
locate |
[-d
dbpath] pattern |
DESCRIPTION
locate searches a database for all pathnames which match the
specified
pattern. The database is recomputed
periodically, and contains the pathnames of all files which are publicly
accessible.
Shell globbing and quoting characters (``*'', ``?'', ``\'', ``['' and ``]'') may
be used in
pattern, although they will have to be
escaped from the shell. Preceding any character with a backslash (``\'')
eliminates any special meaning which it may have. The matching differs in that
no characters must be matched explicitly, including slashes (``/'').
As a special case, a pattern containing no globbing characters (``foo'') is
matched as though it were ``*foo*''.
Options:
-
-
- -d
dbpath
- Sets the list of databases to search to
dbpath which can name one or more database files
separated by ``:'', an empty component in the list represents the default
database. The environment variable LOCATE_PATH has
the same effect.
FILES
- /var/db/locate.database
- Default database
EXIT STATUS
locate exits with a 0 if a match is found, and >0 if no
match is found or if another problem (such as a missing or corrupted database
file) is encountered.
SEE ALSO
find(1),
fnmatch(3),
locate.conf(5),
weekly.conf(5),
locate.updatedb(8)
Woods, James A.,
Finding Files Fast, ;login,
8:1, pp. 8-10,
1983.
HISTORY
The
locate command appeared in
4.4BSD.