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LOCATE(1)							     LOCATE(1)

NAME
       locate - list files in databases that match a pattern

SYNOPSIS
       locate  [-d  path | --database=path] [-e | -E | --[non-]existing] [-i |
       --ignore-case] [-0 | --null] [-c | --count] [-w |  --wholename]	|-b  |
       --basename]  [-l N | --limit=N] [-S | --statistics] [-r | --regex ] [-P
       | -H | --nofollow] [-L | --follow]  [--version]	[-A  |	--all]	[-p  |
       --print] [--help] pattern...

DESCRIPTION
       This  manual  page documents the GNU version of locate.	For each given
       pattern, locate searches one or more databases of file names  and  dis‐
       plays  the  file	 names that contain the pattern.  Patterns can contain
       shell-style metacharacters: `*', `?', and `[]'.	The metacharacters  do
       not  treat  `/'	or `.'	specially.  Therefore, a pattern `foo*bar' can
       match a file name that contains `foo3/bar', and a pattern `*duck*'  can
       match  a	 file name that contains `lake/.ducky'.	 Patterns that contain
       metacharacters should be quoted to protect them from expansion  by  the
       shell.

       If a pattern is a plain string — it contains no metacharacters — locate
       displays all file names in the database that contain that  string  any‐
       where.	If a pattern does contain metacharacters, locate only displays
       file names that match the pattern exactly.  As a result, patterns  that
       contain	metacharacters	should usually begin with a `*', and will most
       often end with one as well.   The  exceptions  are  patterns  that  are
       intended to explicitly match the beginning or end of a file name.

       The  file name databases contain lists of files that were on the system
       when the databases were last updated.   The  system  administrator  can
       choose  the file name of the default database, the frequency with which
       the databases are updated, and the directories for which	 they  contain
       entries; see updatedb(1).

       If  locate's  output  is going to a terminal, unusual characters in the
       output are escaped in the same way as for the -print action of the find
       command.	  If  the  output  is  not going to a terminal, file names are
       printed exactly as-is.

OPTIONS
       -A, --all
	      Print only names which match all non-option arguments, not those
	      matching one or more non-option arguments.

       -c, --count
	      Instead  of printing the matched filenames, just print the total
	      number of matches we found, unless --print (-p) is also present.

       -d path, --database=path
	      Instead of searching the default file name database, search  the
	      file  name databases in path, which is a colon-separated list of
	      database file names.  You can also use the environment  variable
	      LOCATE_PATH  to  set  the list of database files to search.  The
	      option overrides the environment	variable  if  both  are	 used.
	      Empty elements in the path are taken to be synonyms for the file
	      name of the default database.  A database	 can  be  supplied  on
	      stdin, using `-' as an element of path. If more than one element
	      of path is `-', later instances are ignored (and a warning  mes‐
	      sage is printed).

	      The file name database format changed starting with GNU find and
	      locate version 4.0 to allow machines with different byte	order‐
	      ings  to	share the databases.  This version of locate can auto‐
	      matically recognize and read databases produced for  older  ver‐
	      sions of GNU locate or Unix versions of locate or find.  Support
	      for the old locate database format will  be  discontinued	 in  a
	      future release.

       -e, --existing
	      Only  print out such names that currently exist (instead of such
	      names that existed when the database was	created).   Note  that
	      this  may slow down the program a lot, if there are many matches
	      in the database.	If you are using this option within a program,
	      please note that it is possible for the file to be deleted after
	      locate has checked that it exists, but before you use it.

       -E, --non-existing
	      Only print out such names that currently do not  exist  (instead
	      of such names that existed when the database was created).  Note
	      that this may slow down the program a lot,  if  there  are  many
	      matches in the database.

       -L, --follow
	      If  testing  for	the  existence	of  files  (with  the -e or -E
	      options), consider broken symbolic  links	 to  be	 non-existing.
	      This is the default.

       -P, -H, --nofollow
	      If  testing  for	the  existence	of  files  (with  the -e or -E
	      options), treat broken symbolic links as if they	were  existing
	      files.   The -H form of this option is provided purely for simi‐
	      larity with find; the use of -P is recommended over -H.

       -i, --ignore-case
	      Ignore case distinctions in both the pattern and the file names.

       -l N, --limit=N
	      Limit the number of matches to N.	 If a limit is	set  via  this
	      option,  the  number  of	results printed for the -c option will
	      never be larger than this number.

       -m, --mmap
	      Accepted but does nothing, for compatibility with BSD locate.

       -0, --null
	      Use ASCII NUL as a separator, instead of newline.

       -p, --print
	      Print search results when they normally would  not,  because  of
	      the presence of --statistics (-S) or --count (-c).

       -w, --wholename
	      Match  against the whole name of the file as listed in the data‐
	      base.  This is the default.

       -b, --basename
	      Results are considered to match if the pattern specified matches
	      the final component of the name of a file as listed in the data‐
	      base.  This final component is usually referred to as the	 `base
	      name'.

       -r, --regex
	      The  pattern specified on the command line is understood to be a
	      regular expression, as opposed to a glob pattern.	  The  Regular
	      expressions  work	 in  the same was as in emacs and find, except
	      for the fact that "." will match	a  newline.   Filenames	 whose
	      full  paths  match  the specified regular expression are printed
	      (or, in the case of the -c option, counted).   If	 you  wish  to
	      anchor  your  regular  expression	 at  the ends of the full path
	      name, then as is usual with regular expressions, you should  use
	      the characters ^ and $ to signify this.

       -s, --stdio
	      Accepted but does nothing, for compatibility with BSD locate.

       -S, --statistics
	      Print  various  statistics  about	 each locate database and then
	      exit without performing a search,	 unless	 non-option  arguments
	      are given.  For compatibility with BSD, -S is accepted as a syn‐
	      onym for --statistics.  However, the ouptut of locate -S is dif‐
	      ferent for the GNU and BSD implementations of locate.

       --help Print a summary of the options to locate and exit.

       --version
	      Print the version number of locate and exit.

ENVIRONMENT
       LOCATE_PATH
	      Colon-separated list of databases to search.  If the value has a
	      leading or trailing colon, or has two colons in a row,  you  may
	      get results that vary between different versions of locate.

SEE ALSO
       find(1),	 locatedb(5),  updatedb(1),  xargs(1),	glob(3), Finding Files
       (on-line in Info, or printed)

BUGS
       All versions of GNU locate prior to 4.2.31  fail	 to  correctly	handle
       long  (roughly,	over  1024  bytes)  filenames in old-format databases.
       This can lead to a heap buffer overrun  and  it	a  potential  security
       issue.  Verions 4.3.0 to 4.3.6 are also affected by the bug.  Databases
       in the default LOCATE02 format are correctly handled.

       The locate database correctly handles  filenames	 containing  newlines,
       but  only if the system's sort command has a working -z option.	If you
       suspect that locate may need to return filenames	 containing  newlines,
       consider using its --null option.

       The  best  way  to  report  a  bug  is to use the form at http://savan‐
       nah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=findutils.  The reason for  this	 is  that  you
       will then be able to track progress in fixing the problem.   Other com‐
       ments about locate(1) and about the findutils package in general can be
       sent  to	 the bug-findutils mailing list.  To join the list, send email
       to bug-findutils-request@gnu.org.

								     LOCATE(1)
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