LOCATE(E)                                             LOCATE(E)



NAME
       locate - list files in databases that match a pattern

SYNOPSIS
       locate [-d path | --database=path] [-e | --existing] [-i |
       --ignore-case ] [--version] [--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 displays 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 metachar-
       acters  --  locate displays all file names in the database
       that contain that string anywhere.  If a pattern does con-
       tain  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(b).

OPTIONS
       -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 vari-
              able if both are used.

       The  file  name  database format changed starting with GNU
       find and locate version 4.0 to allow machines with diffent
       byte  orderings  to  share the databases.  This version of
       locate can automatically recognize and read databases pro-
       duced for older versions of GNU locate or Unix versions of
       locate or find.

       -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.

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

       --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.

SEE ALSO
       find(d), locatedb(b),  updatedb(b),  xargs(s)  Finding
       Files (on-line in Info, or printed)



                                                       LOCATE(E)