Fd: Fast and User-Friendly File Search

The fd command is a powerful and intuitive alternative to traditional command-line tools like find. It is designed for speed and ease of use, offering sensible defaults and a more user-friendly syntax for everyday file searching tasks. This guide will walk you through the essential usage and options of the fd command.

Basic Fd Command Usage

At its core, fd allows you to search for files and directories within a specified path. The simplest form of the command requires a search query.

# Simple search for files containing 'query':
fd <search query>

Specifying Search Directory

You can easily define the starting point for your search by providing a directory path after the search query.

# Searching for 'query' within a specific directory:
fd <search query> <directory>

Searching by File Extension

fd makes it straightforward to filter search results by file extension using the -e or --extension flag.

# Searching for files with a '.txt' extension:
fd -e <file extension> <search query>

Searching by Exact File Name Pattern

For more precise searches, you can use the -g or --glob flag to specify a file name pattern.

# Searching for files named 'report.txt':
fd -g <file name>.<file extension>

Including Hidden and Ignored Files

By default, fd respects hidden files (those starting with a dot) and ignores files specified in your .gitignore or similar configuration files. To include these, use the -H or --hidden flag.

# Searching for hidden files or ignored files:
fd -H <search query>

Excluding Files and Directories

You can exclude specific files or directories from your search results using the -E or --exclude flag. This is useful for avoiding irrelevant directories like node_modules or build artifacts.

# Excluding a specific directory from the search:
fd -E <file or directories which should be excluded> <search query>

Further Resources

For more advanced usage and a comprehensive list of options, refer to the official fd documentation:

• fd GitHub Repository
• MDN String.prototype.includes() (for understanding string searching concepts)
• GNU Find Manual (for comparison with traditional tools)