How to use find command to search for multiple extensions

Question

I can get all jpg images by using:

find . -name "*.jpg"

But how can I add png files to the results as well?

Related: find -name pattern that matches multiple patterns at SO — kenorb, Apr 13 '15 at 13:46

score 342 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 23 '19 at 12:27

342

Use the -o flag between different parameters.

find ./ -type f $ -iname \*.jpg -o -iname \*.png $ works like a charm.

NOTE There must be a space between the bracket and its contents or it won't work.

Explanation:

-type f - only search for files (not directories)
$ & $ - are needed for the -type f to apply to all arguments
-o - logical OR operator
-iname - like -name, but the match is case insensitive

edited Dec 23 '19 at 12:27

Community

1

answered Jun 20 '11 at 15:11

Shadur-don't-feed-the-AI

31,260

2

Do you need the parentheses. The command works for me without them. Are they needed for some shells? – MikeD Mar 19 '17 at 02:25
4

@miked The command will "work" without them, yes, but you'd wind up getting hits on directories that end in .png as well as files that end with .jpg, which is not exactly what was intended. – Shadur-don't-feed-the-AI Mar 19 '17 at 08:25
1

Thanks for clarifying! The type -f does not extend and apply to both expressions without the parentheses, So, find ./ -type f -iname \*.jpg -o -type f -iname \*.png also works ... although it's two characters longer :-) – MikeD Mar 19 '17 at 11:58
7

It's a matter of operator precedence. Just like a * b + c is different from a * (b + c) – Shadur-don't-feed-the-AI Mar 19 '17 at 12:13
1

Thanks, and I have rewritten a * (b + c) as a * b + a * c with:
find ./ -type f -iname \*.jpg -o -type f -iname \*.png – MikeD Mar 19 '17 at 12:22

score 149 · Answer 2 · edited Jan 11 '22 at 11:29

149

You can combine criteria with -o as suggested by Shadur. Note that -o has lower precedence than juxtaposition, so you may need parentheses.

find . -name '*.jpg' -o -name '*.png'
find . -mtime -7 \( -name '*.jpg' -o -name '*.png' \)  # all .jpg or .png images modified in the past week

On Linux, you can use -regex to combine extensions in a terser way. The default regexp syntax is Emacs (basic regexps plus a few extensions such as \| for alternation); there's an option to switch to extended regexps.

find -regex '.*\.\(jpg\|png\)'
find -regextype posix-extended -regex '.*\.(jpg|png)'

On FreeBSD, NetBSD and OSX, you can use -regex combined with -E for extended regexps.

find -E . -regex '.*\.(jpg|png)'

edited Jan 11 '22 at 11:29

Fabio says Reinstate Monica

103

answered Jun 20 '11 at 21:29

Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'

829,060

9

It's always better to use -iname instead of -name — then you will also capture image.JPG and image.PnG – ccpizza Nov 11 '17 at 10:48
1

You can use -iregex instead of -regex to ignore case – Jotschi Aug 04 '23 at 03:49

score 64 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 05 '19 at 02:03

64

This is more correct:

find . -iregex '.*\.\(jpg\|gif\|png\|jpeg\)$'

edited Apr 05 '19 at 02:03

Community

1

answered Nov 17 '12 at 03:20

Dimitry

657

16

Why do you say it is "more" correct? – Kevin Nov 17 '12 at 03:51
5

@Kevin I guess because -iregex matches jpg as well as JPG Jpg jpG and such. I think the $ isn't needed. – ott-- May 19 '15 at 10:41
1

This works fine on MinGW. – Peter Mortensen Sep 18 '15 at 11:30
2

First, you omitted the search folder as first argument which will throw an error. Secondly, on OSX escaping the parenthesis will not work, and this should be used instead: find -E . -iregex '.*\.(jpg|png|gif)' as shown in @sorin's answer. – ccpizza Nov 11 '17 at 11:36
Much better than the stupid -o operator and it's more correct since you have to use the right tool for the job. – pouya Apr 22 '22 at 14:57
-o isn't stupid; it does exactly what the or operator is supposed to do. And the "right" tool for the job is whatever gets the job done. – Shadur-don't-feed-the-AI Sep 23 '22 at 13:01
Also, this version will also yield directories that end in any of those extensions, so it's arguably less correct than my solution. – Shadur-don't-feed-the-AI Dec 20 '23 at 17:46

score 22 · Answer 4 · edited Sep 09 '19 at 16:36

22

To make it clear, the only option that works on Linux, Unix and macOS flavour is:

find -E . -regex '.*\.(jpg|png)'

That's because the OS X version is a little bit different, but that's important to write things that go well on most platforms.

edited Sep 09 '19 at 16:36

Wilfred Hughes

145

answered Jul 21 '13 at 14:08

sorin

1,259

7

-E flag is not valid for find on Ubuntu 14.04 – gogaman Jul 25 '14 at 17:33
The -E flag is not valid on MinGW either (at least the version/configuration I tried it on (default configuration for a particular version)). – Peter Mortensen Sep 18 '15 at 11:29
1

Which part of -type f $ -iname \*.png -o -iname \*.jpg$ does not work on OSX? – Shadur-don't-feed-the-AI Apr 16 '18 at 07:43
1

Can confirm -type f $ -iname \*.png -o -iname \*.jpg$ does work on OSX – Steve Vermeulen Nov 05 '19 at 16:22

score 3 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 21 '21 at 05:35

3

If only files are needed:

find ./ -type f -regex '.*\.\(jpg\|png\)$'

For example, this will not match a directory named "blah.jpg".

answered Aug 21 '21 at 05:35

nvd

193

How to use find command to search for multiple extensions

5 Answers5

Linked

Related