path: root/bfs.1

.TH BFS 1
.SH NAME
bfs \- breadth-first search for your files
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B bfs
.RB [ flags ...]
.RI [ paths ...]
.RB [ expression ...]
.PP
flags
.RB ( \-H / \-L / \-P
etc.),
.IR paths ,
and
.B expressions
may be freely mixed in any order.
.SH DESCRIPTION
.B bfs
is a breadth-first version of the UNIX
.BR find (1)
command.
.PP
.B bfs
supports almost every feature from every major
.BR find (1)
implementation, so your existing command lines should work as-is.
It also adds some features of its own, such as a more forgiving command line parser and some additional options (see
.B bfs-SPECIFIC FEATURES
below).
.PP
Each
.I path
specified on the command line is treated as a starting path to search through.
If no paths are specified, the current directory
.RI ( . )
is searched by default.
.PP
Like
.BR find (1),
.B bfs
interprets its arguments as a short-circuiting Boolean expression.
For example,
.PP
.nf
.RS
.B bfs \\\( \-name '*.txt' \-or \-lname '*.txt' \\\\) \-and \-print
.RE
.fi
.PP
will print the all the paths that are either .txt files or symbolic links to .txt files.
.B \-and
is implied between two consecutive expressions, so this is equivalent:
.PP
.nf
.RS
.B bfs \\\( \-name '*.txt' \-or \-lname '*.txt' \\\\) \-print
.RE
.fi
.PP
Finally,
.B \-print
is implied if no actions are specified, so this too is equivalent:
.PP
.nf
.RS
.B bfs \-name '*.txt' \-or \-lname '*.txt'
.RE
.fi
.PP
Most options that take a numeric argument
.I N
will also accept
.I \-N
or
.IR +N .
.IR \-N
means "less than
.IR N ,"
and
.I +N
means "greater than
.IR N ."
.SH POSIX find FEATURES
Operators:
.TP
\fB( \fIexpression \fB)\fR
Parentheses are used for grouping expressions together.
You'll probably have to write
.B \\\\(
.I expression
.B \\\\)
to avoid the parentheses being interpreted by the shell.
.TP
\fB! \fIexpression\fR
The "not" operator: returns the negation of the truth value of the
.IR expression .
You may have to write \fB\\! \fIexpression\fR to avoid \fB!\fR being interpreted by the shell.
.TP
\fIexpression\fR [\fB\-a\fR] \fIexpression\fR
Short-circuiting "and" operator: if the left-hand
.I expression
is
.BR true ,
returns the right-hand
.IR expression ;
otherwise, returns
.BR false .
.TP
\fIexpression \fB\-o \fIexpression\fR
Short-circuiting "or" operator: if the left-hand
.I expression
is
.BR false ,
returns the right-hand
.IR expression ;
otherwise, returns
.BR true .
.LP
Flags:
.TP
.B \-H
Follow symbolic links on the command line, but not while searching.
.TP
.B \-L
Follow all symbolic links.
.LP
Options:
.TP
.B \-depth
Search in post-order (descendents first).
.TP
.B \-xdev
Don't descend into other mount points.
.LP
Tests:
.PP
\fB\-atime\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR
.br
\fB\-ctime\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR
.br
\fB\-mtime\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR
.RS
Find files
.BR a ccessed/ c hanged/ m odified
.I N
days ago.
.RE
.PP
.B \-group NAME
.br
.B \-user NAME
.RS
Find files owned by the group/user
.BR NAME .
.RE
.TP
\fB\-links\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR
Find files with
.I N
hard links.
.TP
\fB\-name \fIGLOB\fR
Find files whose name matches the
.IR GLOB .
.TP
\fB\-path \fIGLOB\fR
Find files whose entire path matches the
.IR GLOB .
.TP
\fB\-newer \fIFILE\fR
Find files newer than
.IR FILE .
.TP
\fB\-perm\fR [\fI\-\fR]\fIMODE\fR
Find files with a matching mode.
.TP
\fB\-type\fR [\fIbcdlpfs\fR]
Find files of the given type.
Possible types are
.IR b lock
device,
.IR c haracter
device,
.IR d irectory,
symbolic
.IR l ink,
.IR p ipe,
regular
.IR f ile,
and
.IR s ocket.
.TP
\fB\-size\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR[\fIc\fR]
Find files with the given size.
The default unit is 512-byte blocks;
.I c
counts
.IR c haracters/bytes
instead.
.LP
Actions:
.TP
.B \-prune
Don't descend into this directory.
.TP
\fB\-exec \fIcommand ... {} ;\fR
Execute a command.
.TP
\fB\-exec \fIcommand ... {} +\fR
Execute a command with multiple files at once.
.TP
\fB\-ok \fIcommand ... {} ;\fR
Prompt the user whether to execute a command.
.TP
.B \-print
Print the path to the found file.
.SH GNU find FEATURES
Operators:
.TP
\fB\-not \fIexpression\fR
Same as \fB! \fIexpression\fR.
.TP
\fIexpression \fB\-and \fIexpression\fR
Same as
.I expression
.B \-a
.IR expression .
.TP
\fIexpression \fB\-or \fIexpression\fR
Same as
.I expression
.B \-o
.IR expression .
.TP
\fIexpression \fB, \fIexpression\fR
The "comma" operator: evaluates the left-hand
.I expression
but discards the result, returning the right-hand
.IR expression .
.LP
Flags:
.TP
.B \-P
Never follow symbolic links (the default).
.TP
\fB\-D \fIFLAG\fR
Turn on a debugging flag (see
.B \-D
.IR help ).
.TP
\fB\-O\fIN\fR
Enable optimization level
.I N
(default: 3; interpreted differently than GNU find -- see below).
.LP
Options:
.TP
.B \-d
Search in post-order (same as
.BR \-depth ).
.TP
.B \-daystart
Measure time relative to the start of today.
.TP
.B \-follow
Follow all symbolic links (same as
.BR \-L ).
.LP
.B \-ignore_readdir_race
.br
.B \-noignore_readdir_race
.RS
Whether to report an error if
.B bfs
detects that the file tree is modified during the search (default:
.BR \-noignore_readdir_race ).
.RE
.PP
\fB\-maxdepth \fIN\fR
.br
\fB\-mindepth \fIN\fR
.RS
Ignore files deeper/shallower than
.IR N .
.RE
.TP
.B \-mount
Don't descend into other mount points (same as
.BR \-xdev ).
.TP
.B \-noleaf
Ignored; for compatibility with GNU find.
.TP
\fB\-regextype \fITYPE\fR
Use
.IR TYPE -flavored
regexes (default:
.IR posix-basic ;
see
.B \-regextype
.IR help ).
.LP
.B \-warn
.br
.B \-nowarn
.RS
Turn on or off warnings about the command line.
.RE
.PP
Tests:
.PP
\fB\-amin\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR
.br
\fB\-cmin\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR
.br
\fB\-mmin\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR
.RS
Find files
.BR a ccessed/ c hanged/ m odified
.I N
minutes ago.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-anewer \fIFILE\fR
.br
\fB\-cnewer \fIFILE\fR
.br
\fB\-mnewer \fIFILE\fR
.RS
Find files
.BR a ccessed/ c hanged/ m odified
more recently than
.I FILE
was modified.
.RE
.TP
.B \-empty
Find empty files/directories.
.LP
.B \-executable
.br
.B \-readable
.br
.B \-writable
.RS
Find files the current user can execute/read/write.
.RE
.PP
.B \-false
.br
.B \-true
.RS
Always false/true.
.RE
.TP
.B \-fstype TYPE
Find files on file systems with the given
.BR TYPE .
.LP
\fB\-gid\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR
.br
\fB\-uid\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR
.RS
Find files owned by group/user ID
.IR N .
.RE
.TP
\fB\-inum\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR
Find files with inode number
.IR N .
.TP
\fB\-lname \fIGLOB\fR
Find symbolic links whose target matches the
.IR GLOB .
.TP
\fB\-newer\fIXY \fIREFERENCE\fR
Find files whose
.I X
time is newer than the
.I Y
time of
.IR REFERENCE .
.I X
and
.I Y
can be any of
.RI [ aBcm ]
.RI ( a ccess/ B irth/ c hange/ m odification).
.TP
\fB\-regex \fIREGEX\fR
Find files whose entire path matches the regular expression
.IR REGEX .
.TP
\fB\-samefile \fIFILE\fR
Find hard links to
.IR FILE .
.TP
\fB\-size\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR[\fIcwbkMG\fR]
1-byte
.IR c haracters,
2-byte
.IR w ords,
512-byte
.IR b locks,
and
.IR k iB/ M iB/ G iB.
.TP
\fB\-type\fR [\fIbcdlpfsD\fR]
The
.IR D oor
file type is also supported on platforms that have it (Solaris).
.TP
\fB\-used\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR
Find files last accessed
.I N
days after they were changed.
.TP
\fB\-wholename \fIGLOB\fR
Find files whose entire path matches the
.I GLOB
(same as
.BR \-path ).
.LP
\fB\-ilname \fIGLOB\fR
.br
\fB\-iname \fIGLOB\fR
.br
\fB\-ipath \fIGLOB\fR
.br
\fB\-iregex \fIREGEX\fR
.br
\fB\-iwholename \fIGLOB\fR
.RS
Case-insensitive versions of
.BR \-lname / \-name / \-path / \-regex / \-wholename .
.RE
.TP
\fB\-xtype\fR [\fIbcdlpfsD\fR]
Find files of the given type, following links when
.B \-type
would not, and vice versa.
.LP
Actions:
.TP
.B \-delete
Delete any found files (implies \fB-depth\fR).
.LP
\fB\-execdir \fIcommand ... {} ;\fR
.br
\fB\-execdir \fIcommand ... {} +\fR
.br
\fB\-okdir \fIcommand ... {} ;\fR
.RS
Like
.BR \-exec / \-ok ,
but run the command in the same directory as the found file(s).
.RE
.TP
.B \-ls
List files like
.B ls
.IR \-dils .
.TP
.B \-print0
Like
.BR \-print ,
but use the null character ('\\0') as a separator rather than newlines.
Useful in conjunction with
.B xargs
.IR -0 .
.TP
\fB\-printf \fIFORMAT\fR
Print according to a format string (see
.BR find (1)).
.LP
\fB\-fls \fIFILE\fR
.br
\fB\-fprint \fIFILE\fR
.br
\fB\-fprint0 \fIFILE\fR
.br
\fB\-fprintf \fIFORMAT FILE\fR
.RS
Like
.BR \-ls / \-print / \-print0 / \-printf ,
but write to
.I FILE
instead of standard output.
.RE
.TP
.B \-quit
Quit immediately.
.TP
.B \-version
Print version information.
.TP
.B \-help
Print usage information.
.SH BSD find FEATURES
Flags:
.TP
.B \-E
Use extended regular expressions (same as \fB\-regextype posix-extended\fR).
.TP
.B \-X
Filter out files with
.RB non- xargs (1)-safe
names.
.TP
.B \-x
Don't descend into other mount points (same as \fB\-xdev\fR).
.TP
\fB\-f \fIPATH\fR
Treat
.I PATH
as a path to search (useful if it begins with a dash).
.LP
Tests:
.PP
\fB\-Bmin\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR
.br
\fB\-Btime\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR
.RS
Find files
.BR B irthed
.I N
minutes/days ago.
.RE
.TP
\fB\-Bnewer \fIFILE\fR
Find files
.BR B irthed
more recently than
.I FILE
was modified.
.TP
\fB\-depth\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR
Find files with depth
.IR N .
.LP
.B \-gid NAME
.br
.B \-uid NAME
.RS
Group/user names are supported in addition to numeric IDs.
.RE
.TP
\fB\-size\fR [\fI\-+\fR]\fIN\fR[\fIcwbkMGTP\fR]
Units of
.IR T iB/ P iB
are additionally supported.
.TP
.B \-sparse
Find files that occupy fewer disk blocks than expected.
.LP
Actions:
.TP
\fB\-exit\fR [\fISTATUS\fR]
Exit immediately with the given status (0 if unspecified).
.TP
.B \-printx
Like
.BR \-print ,
but escape whitespace and quotation characters, to make the output safe for
.BR xargs (1).
Consider using
.B \-print0
and
.B xargs
.I \-0
instead.
.TP
.B \-rm
Delete any found files (same as
.BR \-delete ;
implies
.BR \-depth ).
.SH bfs-SPECIFIC FEATURES
Flags:
.TP
\fB\-O\fI0\fR
Disable all optimizations.
.TP
\fB\-O\fI1\fR
Basic logical simplifications.
.TP
\fB\-O\fI2\fR
All
.BI \-O 1
optimizations, plus dead code elimination and data flow analysis.
.TP
\fB\-O\fI3\fR
All
.BI \-O 2
optimizations, plus re-order expressions to reduce expected cost.
.TP
\fB\-O\fI4\fR/\fB\-O\fIfast\fR
All optimizations, including aggressive optimizations that may alter the observed behavior in corner cases.
.LP
Options:
.PP
.B \-color
.br
.B \-nocolor
.RS
Turn colors on or off (default:
.B \-color
if outputting to a terminal,
.B \-nocolor
otherwise).
.RE
.PP
Tests:
.TP
.B \-capable
Match files with POSIX.1e
.BR capabilities (7)
set.
.TP
.B \-hidden
Match hidden files (those beginning with
.IR . ).
.LP
Actions:
.TP
.B \-nohidden
Filter out hidden files and directories.
.LP
\fB\-printf \fIFORMAT\fR
.br
\fB\-fprintf \fIFORMAT FILE\fR
.RS
These additional format directives are supported:
.TP
%w
The file's birth time, in the same format as %a/%c/%t.
.TP
.RI %W k
Field
.I k
of the file's birth time, in the same format as
.RI %A k /%C k /%T k .
.RE
.SH EXAMPLES
.TP
.B bfs
With no arguments,
.B bfs
prints all files under the current directory in breadth-first order.
.TP
.B bfs \-name '*.txt'
Prints all the .txt files under the current directory.
.B *.txt
is quoted to ensure the glob is processed by
.B bfs
rather than the shell.
.TP
\fBbfs \-name access_log -L \fI/var\fR
Finds all files named
.B access_log
under
.IR /var ,
following symbolic links.
.B bfs
allows flags and paths to appear anywhere on the command line.
.TP
\fBbfs \fI~ \fB\-not \-user $USER\fR
Prints all files in your home directory not owned by you.
.TP
.B bfs \-xtype l
Finds broken symbolic links.
.TP
.B bfs \-name .git \-prune \-false \-o \-name config
Finds all files named
.BR config,
skipping every
.B .git
directory.
.TP
.B bfs \-type f \-executable \-exec strip '{}' +
Runs
.BR strip (1)
on all executable files it finds, passing it multiple files at a time.
.SH BUGS
https://github.com/tavianator/bfs/issues
.SH AUTHOR
Tavian Barnes <tavianator@tavianator.com>
.PP
https://github.com/tavianator/bfs
.SH SEE ALSO
.BR find (1),
.BR locate (1),
.BR xargs (1)