CODEWITHSUNDEEP
linuxfindsymlink
Barth
Barth

Reputation: 15745

How to find files excluding symbolic links?

I want to find files in Linux that follow a certain pattern but I am not interested in symbolic links.

There doesn't seem to be an option to the find command for that.

How shall I do ?

Upvotes: 106

Views: 100036

Answers (6)

Wellington1993
Wellington1993

Reputation: 369

Like @AquariusPower say, the use of find -type f -xtype f solved my problem, and now I get only real files and not symbolic links anymore.

From: https://linux.die.net/man/1/find

I got:

-xtype c
The same as -type unless the file is a symbolic link. For symbolic links: if the -H or -P option was specified, true if the file is a link to a file of type c; if the -L option has been given, true if c is 'l'. In other words, for symbolic links, -xtype checks the type of the file that -type does not check.

Upvotes: 3

Joyce M
Joyce M

Reputation: 1

This works for me:

find -H . -maxdepth 1 -type f

Actually, don't really need the -H

Upvotes: 0

hek2mgl
hek2mgl

Reputation: 158220

Check the man page again ;) It's:

find /path/to/files -type f

type f searches for regular files only - excluding symbolic links.

Upvotes: 134

Vittorio Milazzo
Vittorio Milazzo

Reputation: 419

! -type l

For example, if you want to search all regular files in /usr/bin, excluding symlink:

find /usr/bin/ \! -type l

Upvotes: 41

Nande
Nande

Reputation: 442

I have readed the MAN and now it seems is -P also, using -type r would raise an error. also notice is the DEFAULT behavior now.

-P Never follow symbolic links. This is the default behaviour. When find examines or prints information a file, and the file is a symbolic link, the information used shall be taken from the properties of the symbolic link itself.

Upvotes: 3

ron rothman
ron rothman

Reputation: 18168

Do you want it to follow symlinks but not return them (if they match your pattern)?

find -H?

man find
     ...
     -H      Cause the file information and file type (see stat(2)) returned for each symbolic link specified on the command line to be those of
             the file referenced by the link, not the link itself.  If the referenced file does not exist, the file information and type will be
             for the link itself.  File information of all symbolic links not on the command line is that of the link itself.

     -L      Cause the file information and file type (see stat(2)) returned for each symbolic link to be those of the file referenced by the
             link, not the link itself.  If the referenced file does not exist, the file information and type will be for the link itself.

             This option is equivalent to the deprecated -follow primary.

Upvotes: 5

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