- 1Linux Topics Index
- 2How to Create a File in Linux
- 3How to Rename a File in Linux
- 4How to Copy a File in Linux
- 5How to Move a File in Linux
- 6How to Delete a File in Linux
- 7How to Create a Directory in Linux
- 8How to Delete a Directory in Linux
- 9How to Copy Directories Recursively in Linux
- 10Delete Directories Recursively in Linux
- 11How to View Hidden Files in Linux
- 12How to Create a Hidden File in Linux
- 13How to Create a Hidden Directory in Linux
- 14How to Find Files in Linux Using find Command
- 15Find Files in Linux Using locate Command
- 16How to View File Contents Using cat in Linux
- 17How to View File Contents Using less in Linux
- 18View File Contents Using the more Command in Linux
- 19Compare Files Using diff Command in Linux
- 20Compare Files in Linux Using cmp Command
- 21Check File Type in Linux with file Command
- 22Create Symbolic Links with ln -s in Linux
- 23How to Archive Files Using tar Command in Linux
- 24Compress Files with gzip in Linux – Beginner Tutorial
- 25How to Compress Files Using bzip2 in Linux
- 26Compress Files in Linux Using zip Command
- 27Extract Compressed Files using tar in Linux
- 28Extract ZIP Files on Linux with unzip
- 29How to Extract .gz Files using gunzip in Linux

- 1Linux Topics Index
- 2How to Create a File in Linux
- 3How to Rename a File in Linux
- 4How to Copy a File in Linux
- 5How to Move a File in Linux
- 6How to Delete a File in Linux
- 7How to Create a Directory in Linux
- 8How to Delete a Directory in Linux
- 9How to Copy Directories Recursively in Linux
- 10Delete Directories Recursively in Linux
- 11How to View Hidden Files in Linux
- 12How to Create a Hidden File in Linux
- 13How to Create a Hidden Directory in Linux
- 14How to Find Files in Linux Using find Command
- 15Find Files in Linux Using locate Command
- 16How to View File Contents Using cat in Linux
- 17How to View File Contents Using less in Linux
- 18View File Contents Using the more Command in Linux
- 19Compare Files Using diff Command in Linux
- 20Compare Files in Linux Using cmp Command
- 21Check File Type in Linux with file Command
- 22Create Symbolic Links with ln -s in Linux
- 23How to Archive Files Using tar Command in Linux
- 24Compress Files with gzip in Linux – Beginner Tutorial
- 25How to Compress Files Using bzip2 in Linux
- 26Compress Files in Linux Using zip Command
- 27Extract Compressed Files using tar in Linux
- 28Extract ZIP Files on Linux with unzip
- 29How to Extract .gz Files using gunzip in Linux

- 1How to Add a New User in Linux
- 2Modify Existing User in Linux
- 3Delete a User in Linux — Step-by-Step for Beginners
- 4Create a User Group in Linux - Step-by-Step Tutorial
- 5Linux: Add User to Group
- 6How to Remove a User from a Group in Linux
- 7Delete a User Group in Linux - Beginner Friendly Tutorial
- 8Linux su Command Tutorial – Switch Users Easily
- 9Linux sudo Command - Execute as Another User
- 10Change a User's Password in Linux Using passwd
- 11Set Password Expiry in Linux using chage
- 12Lock a User Account in Linux
- 13How to Unlock a User Account in Linux
- 14Configure User Login Shell in Linux
- 15How to Configure User Environment Variables in Linux
- 16Edit .bashrc and .profile in Linux - User Startup Files Tutorial
How to Find Files Using locate Command
Next Topic ⮕How to View File Contents Using cat in Linux
How to Find Files Using locate
Command
Hey there! 👋 If you've ever found yourself lost in your Linux system, trying to remember where a file is hiding, then locate
is about to become your new best friend. In this tutorial, we're going to learn how to use the locate
command to find files and directories quickly and efficiently.
What is locate
?
The locate
command helps you find the full path of files or directories by searching a prebuilt database. Unlike find
, which scans the filesystem in real time, locate
is much faster because it uses an indexed list of all files on your system.
Step 1: Install locate
(if not already installed)
First things first—let's install mlocate
, which provides the locate
command.
sudo apt update
sudo apt install mlocate
For Red Hat-based systems:
sudo yum install mlocate
Step 2: Update the locate database
Before you can use locate
, you need to update its database. This step collects all the paths on your system so locate
knows where to look.
sudo updatedb
This might take a few seconds depending on your system size.
Step 3: Find a file using locate
Now, let’s say you want to find a file named notes.txt
. You simply run:
locate notes.txt
You’ll see something like:
/home/alex/Documents/notes.txt
/home/alex/Downloads/old/notes.txt
Wow, that was fast! 🚀 Unlike find
, you don’t have to specify a directory—it searches the entire system.
Step 4: Use wildcards with locate
Want to find all files that end with .log
? Use a wildcard:
locate "*.log"
Note: You may need to wrap the pattern in quotes to prevent the shell from expanding it too early.
Step 5: Filter results with grep
If your search returns too many results, pipe it through grep
to filter them:
locate notes | grep "2024"
This will show only results that contain "2024" in their paths.
Pro Tip: Run updatedb
regularly
Because locate
depends on a database, new files won't show up until the database is updated. You can automate this by setting up a cron
job, or just run sudo updatedb
manually every now and then.
That’s it!
Now you know how to use the locate
command to find files in seconds. Try it out and see how much time it saves you!
See you in the next tutorial. Happy Linux-ing! 🐧