How Find Only Executable Files Using 'locate'?

Introduction

The locate command is a powerful tool used to search for files on a Linux system. It's often used in conjunction with the updatedb command to create a database of files on the system. However, by default, the locate command searches for all types of files, including executables, non-executable files, and even directories. In this article, we'll explore how to use the locate command to find only executable files.

Understanding the Problem

When you run the command locate gtags, it will find all the files named gtags, regardless of their type. This can be a problem if you're only interested in finding executable files. For example, if you have a file named gtags that's a script, but not an executable, you might not want to include it in your search results.

Using the -e Option

To find only executable files using the locate command, you can use the -e option. This option tells locate to search only for executable files. Here's an example:

locate -e gtags

This command will find all the executable files named gtags on your system.

Using the --regex Option

If you want to search for files that match a specific pattern, you can use the --regex option. This option allows you to use regular expressions to search for files. Here's an example:

locate --regex 'gtags{{content}}#39;

This command will find all the files that end with the string gtags.

Using the --ignore Option

If you want to exclude certain files from your search results, you can use the --ignore option. This option allows you to specify a pattern to ignore. Here's an example:

locate --ignore 'gtags\.sh{{content}}#39; gtags

This command will find all the files named gtags, but will exclude any files that end with the string gtags.sh.

Using the --not Option

If you want to find files that do not match a certain pattern, you can use the --not option. This option allows you to specify a pattern to exclude. Here's an example:

locate --not 'gtags\.sh{{content}}#39; gtags

This command will find all the files named gtags, but will exclude any files that end with the string gtags.sh.

Conclusion

In this article, we've explored how to use the locate command to find only executable files. We've covered the -e option, the --regex option, the --ignore option, and the --not option. By using these options, you can customize your search results to find only the files you're interested in.

Tips and Tricks

Here are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind when using the locate command:

• Make sure to update the database regularly by running the updatedb command.
• Use the -i option to perform a case-insensitive search.
• Use the -n option to specify the maximum number of results to.
• Use the --verbose option to display more information about the search results.

Common Use Cases

Here are a few common use cases for the locate command:

• Finding executable files: locate -e gtags
• Finding files that match a specific pattern: locate --regex 'gtags