25 Linux 'find' Command Time-Based Examples

1. Find Files Modified in Last 24 Hours

find /path/to/directory -mtime -1

-mtime -1 = modified within the last 24 hours.

2. Find Files Accessed More Than 7 Days Ago

find /var/log -atime +7

-atime +7 = accessed older than 7 days.

3. Files Modified in Last 2 Hours

find /tmp -mmin -120

-mmin -120 = modified in the last 120 minutes.

4. Find Files Newer Than a Reference File

find . -newer reference.txt

Lists files modified after `reference.txt`.

5. Delete Files Older Than 30 Days

find /old_files -type f -mtime +30 -delete

Deletes files older than 30 days (use with caution).

6. List PDFs Accessed in Last Month

find /Documents -name "*.pdf" -atime -30 -ls

-name filters by extension, -ls shows details.

7. Find Empty Files Older Than 6 Months

find /logs -empty -mtime +180

Finds empty files older than 180 days.

8. Show Files Modified Since Yesterday

find / -mtime -1 -exec ls -l {} \;

-exec runs `ls -l` on matching files.

9. Find Directories Modified Today

find /projects -type d -mtime 0

-type d searches directories only.

10. Files Modified Between 3-7 Days Ago

find /archive -mtime +3 -mtime -7

Matches files modified between 3 and 7 days ago.

11. List Files Accessed Today

find /home/user -daystart -atime 0

-daystart calculates time from midnight.

12. Find Files Changed in Last Hour

find . -cmin -60

-cmin checks file status change time.

13. Find and Archive Old Backups

find /backups -mtime +30 -exec mv {} /old_backups/ \;

Moves files older than 30 days to another directory.

14. Find Files Newer Than a Specific Date

find / -newermt "2023-10-01"

-newermt uses a date format like `YYYY-MM-DD`.

15. List Log Files Older Than a Week

find /var/log -name "*.log" -mtime +7

Filters log files older than 7 days.

16. Find Files Modified Before a Reference File

find . ! -newer reference.txt

! inverts the logic (files older than `reference.txt`).

17. Show Files Not Accessed in 30 Days

find / -atime +30 -print

-print is the default action (useful for testing).

18. Find and Delete Empty Directories Older Than a Year

find / -type d -empty -mtime +365 -delete

Clean up old empty directories safely.

19. List Files Modified in Last 5 Minutes

find /tmp -mmin -5

Finds recently modified temporary files.

20. Find Files Modified Between 1-2 Hours Ago

find / -mmin +60 -mmin -120

Matches files modified between 1 and 2 hours ago.

21. Find Files Older Than 2020

find /old_files -mtime +4015

4015 days ≈ 11 years.

22. Find Image Files Created Last Week

find /photos -name "*.jpg" -ctime -7

-ctime checks inode change time.

23. List Files Modified After a Specific Time

find / -newermt "2023-10-05 14:30"

Use time format `YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM`.

24. Find and Print Files Modified Since Yesterday

find / -mtime -1 -exec echo "File found: {}" \;

-exec with `echo` for testing.

25. List Directories Modified in Last Month

find /projects -type d -mtime -30

Filters directories modified within the last 30 days.

Option	Description	Example
`-mtime n`	Modified in last `n*24` hours	`find . -mtime 2`
`-mmin n`	Modified in last `n` minutes	`find . -mmin -30`
`-newer file`	Modified after `file`	`find . -newer log.txt`
`-daystart`	Calculate from start of today	`find . -daystart -atime 0`