locate

searches a prebuilt database to find files matching a pattern

TLDR

Find files by pattern

$ locate "[pattern]"

Find case-insensitive

$ locate -i "[pattern]"

Find by exact filename (basename only)

$ locate -b "\[filename]"

Limit output to a specific number of results

$ locate -l [10] "[pattern]"

Count the number of matching entries

$ locate -c "[pattern]"

Display database statistics

$ locate -S

Update the database

$ sudo updatedb

SYNOPSIS

locate [options] pattern...

DESCRIPTION

locate searches a prebuilt database to find files matching a pattern, making it much faster than find for simple filename searches. The database is typically updated daily by a cron job.

PARAMETERS

-i, --ignore-case

Case-insensitive search

-l, --limit N

Limit output to N entries

-c, --count

Print count of matches

-e, --existing

Only print existing files

-b, --basename

Match only basename

-r, --regexp

Use basic regex pattern

--regex

Use extended regex pattern

-d, --database DBPATH

Search in specified database instead of the default

-S, --statistics

Print statistics about each database and exit

-w, --wholename

Match against the whole path name (default behavior)

CAVEATS

Database is updated periodically, so recently created files may not be found. Run `updatedb` to refresh the database manually.