Find command on Linux is a very powerful tool to search files or directories. We can use maxdepth/mindepth to limit down the search to specific depth levels.
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How to Use Depth In Find Command
We can combine two options together to limit the search only between max/min depths. On Centos, there is no option for -depth. We can use -maxdepth n -mindepth n to search files or directories only under n depth level.
Learning Maxdepth and mindepth
The descriptions of maxdepth and mindepth are in the following:
- maxdepth levels – Descend at most levels (a non-negative integer) levels of directories below the command line arguments. -maxdepth 0 means only apply the tests and actions to the command line arguments.
- mindepth levels – Do not apply any tests or actions at levels less than levels (a non-negative integer). -mindepth 1 means process all files except the command line arguments.
Examples of Depth in Find Command
We can use the following examples to limit the depth level in Linux find command.
# find /etc -maxdepth 2 -name passwd
/etc/passwd
/etc/pam.d/passwd
# find /etc -mindepth 1 -name passwd
/etc/passwd
/etc/pam.d/passwd
# find /etc -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -name passwd
/etc/passwd
# find /etc -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 2 -name passwd
/etc/passwd
/etc/pam.d/passwd
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