If you are working on thousands of files a day and want to find a list of files that have been modified recently in a directory for certain purposes, this can be done easily using the find command.
The find command is used to search or locate files based on various criteria such as timestamp, file type and file permissions in Linux.
Please refer to our previous article on how to find a directory size in Linux.
In this article, we have included 13 examples for locating files based on timestamp and I hope this article will meet your needs.
In Linux, a file contains three timestamps, which are updated when a file is accessed or modified or replaced.
Types of file timestamps:
- atime: access time or Last access time
- mtime: modify time or Last modification time
- ctime: change time or Last change time
Read the below explanation for better understanding about timestamp.
- atime/amin: The last time the file was accessed by some command or application.
- mtime/mmin: The last time the file’s contents was modified.
- ctime/cmin: The last time the file’s attribute was modified.
How to check all timestamps of a file?
It can be easily seen using ‘stat’ command, which displays all three timestamps of a file.
The common syntax is as follows:
stat [File_Name]
# stat /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup.sh File: /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup.sh Size: 436 Blocks: 8 IO Block: 4096 regular file Device: 10301h/66305d Inode: 2490772 Links: 1 Access: (0644/-rw-r--r--) Uid: ( 1000/ daygeek) Gid: ( 1000/ daygeek) Access: 2019-09-08 01:00:20.963127924 +0530 Modify: 2019-09-08 01:04:56.274279514 +0530 Change: 2019-09-08 01:04:56.274279514 +0530 Birth: 2019-09-08 01:00:20.963127924 +0530
We can use numerical arguments with ‘mtime’. Use “-mtime n” command to return a list of files that were last modified “n” hours ago.
- +n: for greater than n
- -n: for less than n
- n: for exactly n
See the format below for a better understanding.
- -mtime +10: This will find all files that were modified 10 days ago.
- -mtime -10: It will find all files that were modified in the last 10 days.
- -mtime 10: Use this format to find all files that were modified EXACTLY 10 days ago.
1) Sorting files & folders based on conversion time
This can be done by using the ls command with some options as shown below, which sorts the files and folders in reverse order based on the conversion time.
# ls -ltrh /home/daygeek/shell-script total 312K -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 616 Jun 2 13:25 cpu-alert2.sh -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 830 Jun 14 11:54 process.sh -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 776 Jun 14 12:00 memory-monitor.sh -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 157 Jul 29 18:29 service1.sh -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 361 Jul 29 19:45 service3a.sh -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 296 Aug 4 01:27 servicem.sh drw-r--r-- 3 daygeek daygeek 4.0K Aug 19 12:33 backup -rwxr-xr-x 1 daygeek daygeek 73 Aug 23 12:51 guna_server.sh -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 436 Sep 8 01:04 remote-backup.sh -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 367 Sep 8 01:19 remote-backup-2.sh -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 418 Sep 8 03:54 remote-backup-1.sh -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 459 Sep 8 04:21 list-remote-backup.sh drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4.0K Sep 20 12:53 test drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4.0K Sep 20 12:54 test1 drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4.0K Sep 20 12:54 test3
2) Sorting only folders based on conversion time
Use the following format to sort only folders in reverse order based on conversion time.
# ls -ltrh /home/daygeek/shell-script | grep ^d drw-r--r-- 3 daygeek daygeek 4.0K Aug 19 12:33 backup drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4.0K Sep 20 12:53 test drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4.0K Sep 20 12:54 test1 drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4.0K Sep 20 12:54 test3
3) How to find only files that were modified 120 days ago
The below find command will show a list of files that were changed 120 days ago.
# find /home/daygeek/shell-script -type f -mtime +120 -ls 2491042 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 410 Apr 27 23:58 /home/daygeek/shell-script/disk-space-alert.sh 1705245 4 -rwxr-xr-x 1 daygeek daygeek 41 Jan 15 2019 /home/daygeek/shell-script/ovh.sh 1704244 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 99 Jan 19 2019 /home/daygeek/shell-script/file-copy.sh 1744131 4 -rwxr-xr-x 1 daygeek daygeek 1361 Feb 9 2019 /home/daygeek/shell-script/cpu-mem-check.sh 1719630 4 -rwxr-xr-x 1 daygeek daygeek 82 Mar 1 2019 /home/daygeek/shell-script/pass-gen.sh 1719891 4 -rwxr-xr-x 1 daygeek daygeek 274 Mar 16 2019 /home/daygeek/shell-script/pass-multi-user.sh 2490973 4 -rwxr-xr-x 1 daygeek daygeek 237 Apr 6 10:40 /home/daygeek/shell-script/mysql_backup_1.sh 2490935 0 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 0 Apr 29 10:25 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test.txt 1736513 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 227 Mar 17 2019 /home/daygeek/shell-script/server-list.txt 2490942 8 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 4780 Apr 11 14:57 /home/daygeek/shell-script/2g.out 1738172 4 -rwxr-xr-x 1 daygeek daygeek 214 Mar 10 2019 /home/daygeek/shell-script/user-add.sh 1719571 4 -rwxr-xr-x 1 daygeek daygeek 151 Mar 16 2019 /home/daygeek/shell-script/pass-up.sh 2491095 140 -rwxr-xr-x 1 daygeek daygeek 139406 May 12 20:26 /home/daygeek/shell-script/xsos 1720392 4 -rwxr-xr-x 1 daygeek daygeek 76 Mar 17 2019 /home/daygeek/shell-script/port_scan.sh 1730638 4 -rwxr-xr-x 1 daygeek daygeek 98 Jan 11 2019 /home/daygeek/shell-script/passwd-up1.sh 2490982 4 -rwxr-xr-x 1 daygeek daygeek 241 Apr 6 10:49 /home/daygeek/shell-script/mysql_backup_2.sh 2490955 4 -rwxr-xr-x 1 daygeek daygeek 761 Apr 6 21:36 /home/daygeek/shell-script/mysql_backup.sh 1717834 4 -rwxr-xr-x 1 daygeek daygeek 159 Jan 11 2019 /home/daygeek/shell-script/passwd-up.sh 2491025 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 78 Apr 26 11:39 /home/daygeek/shell-script/bulk-package-install.sh
4) How to find only files that were modified in last 15 days
The below find command will show a list of files that have changed in the last 15 days:
# find /home/daygeek/shell-script -type f -mtime -15 -ls 2490782 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 418 Sep 8 03:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup-1.sh 2494508 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 436 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test3/remote-backup.sh 2490783 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 538 Sep 20 12:53 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test/cpu-alert.sh 2490772 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 436 Sep 8 01:04 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup.sh 2494505 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 776 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test1/memory-monitor.sh 2490786 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 367 Sep 8 01:19 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup-2.sh 2490789 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 459 Sep 8 04:21 /home/daygeek/shell-script/list-remote-backup.sh
5) How to find only files that were modified exactly 10 days ago
The below find command will show you a list of files that were changed exactly 10 days ago:
# find /home/daygeek/shell-script -type f -mtime 10 -ls 2490782 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 418 Sep 8 03:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup-1.sh 2490772 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 436 Sep 8 01:04 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup.sh 2490786 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 367 Sep 8 01:19 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup-2.sh 2490789 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 459 Sep 8 04:21 /home/daygeek/shell-script/list-remote-backup.sh
6) How to find only files that were modified within last 30 Mins
The below find command will show a list of files that have changed within the last 30 mins.
# find /home/daygeek/ -type d -mmin -30 -ls 6553934 4 drwx------ 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 14:08 /home/daygeek/.cache/google-chrome/Default/Cache/index-dir 1974320 4 drwxr-xr-x 3 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 14:06 /home/daygeek/.config/Notepadqq/backupCache 1974321 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 14:06 /home/daygeek/.config/Notepadqq/backupCache/window_94904345125616 6553884 4 drwx------ 19 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 14:03 /home/daygeek/.config/google-chrome 6553899 4 drwx------ 26 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 14:07 /home/daygeek/.config/google-chrome/Default 6553923 4 drwx------ 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 13:50 /home/daygeek/.config/google-chrome/Default/Sync\ Data/LevelDB 6823938 4 drwx------ 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 14:03 /home/daygeek/.config/google-chrome/Default/databases/https_translate.google.co.in_0 6553915 4 drwx------ 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 13:54 /home/daygeek/.config/google-chrome/Safe\ Browsing 1704068 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 14:05 /home/daygeek/.local/share/tracker/data 1704089 4 drwx------ 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 14:04 /home/daygeek/.local/share/gvfs-metadata 1703995 4 drwx------ 3 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 14:05 /home/daygeek/.local/share/gnome-shell
7) How to find only the folder’s modified in last 5 Days
This command displays only folders modified within the last 5 days.
# find /home/daygeek/shell-script -type d -mtime -5 -ls 2494645 4 drwxr-xr-x 6 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 12:55 /home/daygeek/shell-script 2498566 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test3 2498564 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 12:53 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test 2498565 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test1
8) How to find both Files and Folders that were modified in last 15 Days
This command displays a list of files and folders modified within last 15 days:
# find /home/daygeek/shell-script -mtime -15 -ls 2494645 4 drwxr-xr-x 6 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 12:55 /home/daygeek/shell-script 2490782 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 418 Sep 8 03:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup-1.sh 2498566 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test3 2494508 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 436 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test3/remote-backup.sh 2498564 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 12:53 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test 2490783 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 538 Sep 20 12:53 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test/cpu-alert.sh 2490772 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 436 Sep 8 01:04 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup.sh 2498565 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test1 2494505 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 776 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test1/memory-monitor.sh 2490786 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 367 Sep 8 01:19 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup-2.sh 2490789 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 459 Sep 8 04:21 /home/daygeek/shell-script/list-remote-backup.sh
9) How to find modified files and folders starting from a given Date to the latest Date
This command allows you to find a list of files and folders that have been modified starting from a given date to the latest date:
# find /home/daygeek/shell-script -newermt "2019-09-08" -ls 2494645 4 drwxr-xr-x 6 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 12:55 /home/daygeek/shell-script 2490782 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 418 Sep 8 03:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup-1.sh 2498566 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test3 2494508 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 436 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test3/remote-backup.sh 2498564 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 12:53 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test 2490783 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 538 Sep 20 12:53 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test/cpu-alert.sh 2490772 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 436 Sep 8 01:04 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup.sh 2498565 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test1 2494505 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 776 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test1/memory-monitor.sh 2490786 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 367 Sep 8 01:19 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup-2.sh 2490789 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 459 Sep 8 04:21 /home/daygeek/shell-script/list-remote-backup.sh
10) How to find all files and folders modified in the Last 24 Hours
Alternatively, you can use an easy-to-understand format like the one below to find files and folders that have changed over the past 24 hours.
# find /home/daygeek -newermt "1 day ago" -ls or # find /home/daygeek -newermt "-24 hours" -ls or # find /home/daygeek -newermt "yesterday" -ls 1704781 36 -rw------- 1 daygeek daygeek 35943 Sep 20 12:13 /home/daygeek/.local/share/keyrings/login.keyring 1705911 8 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 4548 Sep 20 12:15 /home/daygeek/Remove-Symbolic-Links-in-Linux.txt 1703977 56 drwxr-xr-x 14 daygeek daygeek 53248 Sep 20 08:04 /home/daygeek/Downloads 1707507 36 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 36092 Sep 20 08:04 /home/daygeek/Downloads/picture-networking-9.png 2490860 20 drwxr-xr-x 4 daygeek daygeek 20480 Sep 20 08:18 /home/daygeek/Desktop/Daily_Activity/2g-images/Designed_Image 2490796 72 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 71000 Sep 20 08:18 /home/daygeek/Desktop/Daily_Activity/2g-images/Designed_Image/how-to-remove-delete-symbolic-links-in-linux-1.png 1966609 188 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 192110 Sep 20 12:39 /home/daygeek/Desktop/Daily_Activity/magi.txt 1709893 36 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 34631 Sep 20 07:36 /home/daygeek/old-Mysqladmin-command.txt 1710619 40 drwxr-xr-x 2 daygeek daygeek 36864 Sep 20 12:35 /home/daygeek/Pictures/BingWallpaper 1710658 340 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 348014 Sep 20 12:35 /home/daygeek/Pictures/BingWallpaper/20190920-th?id=OHR.ThePando_EN-US1263045290_1920x1080.jpg
11) How to find a list of “sh” extension files accessed in the Last 30 Days
This command helps you to find a list of files with “sh” extension accessed in the last 30 days.
# find /home/daygeek/shell-script -type f -iname "*.sh" -atime -30 -ls 2490782 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 418 Sep 8 03:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup-1.sh 2494508 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 436 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test3/remote-backup.sh 2490783 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 538 Sep 20 12:53 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test/cpu-alert.sh 2490772 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 436 Sep 8 01:04 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup.sh 2494505 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 776 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test1/memory-monitor.sh 2490786 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 367 Sep 8 01:19 /home/daygeek/shell-script/remote-backup-2.sh 2490789 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 459 Sep 8 04:21 /home/daygeek/shell-script/list-remote-backup.sh
12) How to find files that have been modified over a period of time
The below command shows a list of files that have changed in the last 20 minutes.
# find /home/daygeek -cmin -20 -ls 6595804 11440 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 11713819 Sep 20 13:24 /home/daygeek/.config/google-chrome/Safe\ Browsing/UrlSoceng.store 6586612 12 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 11171 Sep 20 13:24 /home/daygeek/.config/google-chrome/Safe\ Browsing/UrlSuspiciousSite.store 6595504 216 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 219195 Sep 20 13:24 /home/daygeek/.config/google-chrome/Safe\ Browsing/UrlUws.store 6553893 28 -rw------- 1 daygeek daygeek 270336 Sep 20 13:32 /home/daygeek/.config/google-chrome/ShaderCache/GPUCache/data_1 6595827 88 -rw------- 1 daygeek daygeek 87328 Sep 20 13:20 /home/daygeek/.config/google-chrome/Local\ State 2490785 104 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 105595 Sep 20 13:30 /home/daygeek/.local/share/fish/fish_history 1703995 4 drwx------ 3 daygeek daygeek 4096 Sep 20 13:33 /home/daygeek/.local/share/gnome-shell 1704389 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 1258 Sep 20 13:33 /home/daygeek/.local/share/gnome-shell/application_state 1707425 16 -rw------- 1 daygeek daygeek 14108 Sep 18 12:52 /home/daygeek/.bash_history
13) How to find a list of files created Today
This command enables you to find a list of files created today:
# find /home/daygeek/shell-script -type f -ctime -1 -ls 2494508 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 436 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test3/remote-backup.sh 2490783 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 538 Sep 20 12:53 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test/cpu-alert.sh 2494505 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 daygeek daygeek 776 Sep 20 12:54 /home/daygeek/shell-script/test1/memory-monitor.sh
Closing Notes
This article explained how to find recently modified files & folders in Linux.
If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to comment below.
