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How to find and sort files based on modification date and time in linux
While working with computers, we have a habit of saving a lot of information in our computers such as files, folders, etc. Normally desktop looks like a mess but the problem arises when users want to search a modified file on a particular date or time. There are simple commands which are available in Linux to search a modified file. This article describes “How to Find and Sort Files Based on Modification Date and Time in Linux”.
List Files Based on Modification Time
The list command shows a list of files, directories, information about date and time of modification or access, permissions, size, owner, group etc. The below command shows the list of files along with format, sorts files based on modification time and newest file first.
$ ls -lt
The sample output should be like this –
total 322428 drwxr-xr-x 3 linux linux 4096 Mar 8 13:59 Downloads drwxr-xr-x 6 linux linux 4096 Mar 3 14:34 Desktop lrwxrwxrwx 1 linux linux 37 Feb 27 13:25 PlayOnLinux's virtual drives -> /home/linux/.PlayOnLinux//wineprefix/ -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 70706 Feb 23 14:52 Selection_007.png -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 108159 Feb 23 14:49 root@linux: ~_005.png -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 145629 Feb 23 14:47 Workspace 1_004.png drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Feb 23 14:30 Pictures -rw-rw-r-- 1 linux linux 87631 Feb 19 14:08 account.png -rw-rw-r-- 1 linux linux 72172 Feb 19 14:07 network.png -rw-rw-r-- 1 linux linux 98362 Feb 19 14:05 sample1.png drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Feb 19 11:38 linux-dash drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Feb 19 11:08 Documents drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Feb 19 11:08 Music drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Feb 19 11:08 Public drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Feb 19 11:08 Templates drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Feb 19 11:08 Videos -rw-r--r-- 1 linux linux 8980 Feb 19 10:55 examples.desktop
List Files Based on Last Access Time
To get the list of all files based on last access time, use the following command-
$ ls -ltu
The sample output should be like this –
total 322428 drwxr-xr-x 3 linux linux 4096 Mar 8 14:00 Downloads drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Mar 8 11:18 linux-dash -rw-r--r-- 1 linux linux 8980 Mar 8 11:18 examples.desktop -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 70706 Mar 8 11:18 Selection_007.png -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 108159 Mar 8 11:18 root@linux: ~_005.png -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 145629 Mar 8 11:18 Workspace 1_004.png lrwxrwxrwx 1 linux linux 37 Mar 8 11:18 PlayOnLinux's virtual drives -> /home/linux/.PlayOnLinux//wineprefix/ drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Mar 8 11:18 Public drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Mar 8 11:18 Documents drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Mar 8 11:18 Music drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Mar 8 11:18 Pictures drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Mar 8 11:18 Videos drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Mar 8 11:15 Templates drwxr-xr-x 6 linux linux 4096 Mar 8 11:15 Desktop
List of Files Based on Last Modification Time
To get the last modified files, use the following command –
$ ls -ltc
The sample output should be like this –
total 322428 drwxr-xr-x 3 linux linux 4096 Mar 8 13:59 Downloads drwxr-xr-x 6 linux linux 4096 Mar 3 14:34 Desktop lrwxrwxrwx 1 linux linux 37 Feb 27 13:25 PlayOnLinux's virtual drives -> /home/linux/.PlayOnLinux//wineprefix/ -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 70706 Feb 23 14:52 Selection_007.png -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 108159 Feb 23 14:49 root@linux: ~_005.png -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 145629 Feb 23 14:47 Workspace 1_004.png drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Feb 23 14:30 Pictures -rw-rw-r-- 1 linux linux 87631 Feb 19 14:08 account.png -rw-rw-r-- 1 linux linux 72172 Feb 19 14:07 network.png -rw-rw-r-- 1 linux linux 98362 Feb 19 14:05 sample1.png drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Feb 19 11:38 linux-dash drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Feb 19 11:08 Documents drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Feb 19 11:08 Music drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Feb 19 11:08 Public drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Feb 19 11:08 Templates drwxr-xr-x 2 linux linux 4096 Feb 19 11:08 Videos -rw-r--r-- 1 linux linux 8980 Feb 19 10:55 examples.desktop
Sorting Ouptut of ls -l based on Date
This command sorts the output of ‘ls -l’ command based on 1th field of month.
Use the following command –
ls -l | sort -k1M
The sample ouput should be like this –
drwxr-xr-x 9 tutorialspoint 2000 4096 Feb 23 10:37 psensor-1.1.3 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 108159 Feb 23 14:49 root@linux: ~_005.png -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 124850 Feb 23 14:52 root@linux: ~_006.png -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 145629 Feb 23 14:46 Workspace 1_004.png -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 145658 Feb 23 14:43 Workspace 1_003.png -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 146010 Feb 23 14:39 Workspace 1_002.png -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178005 Feb 23 14:39 Workspace 1_001.png -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 200505 Aug 29 2015 Tutorialspoint ad-DADCpj8sFCE.mp3 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 215 Mar 3 10:28 dead.letter ................
For more in-depth sorting, use the following commands-
Find Command
Find command is used to search and locate a list of files and directories based on conditions which are specified by the user.
Sorting Files based on Month
To find the sorted root files based on month, use the following command –
# find / -type f -printf "
%Ab %p" | head -n 11
The above command gives a complete list of top 11 entries which were accessed based on month.
May /etc/newt/palette.ubuntu May /etc/newt/palette.original May /etc/ltrace.conf Mar /etc/pulse/daemon.conf Mar /etc/pulse/default.pa Jan /etc/pulse/system.pa Mar /etc/pulse/client.conf Mar /etc/gtk-3.0/settings.ini Jul /etc/gtk-3.0/im-multipress.conf Feb /etc/subgid-
To find the sorted root files using the first key with month, use -k1M option as shown below –
# find / -type f -printf "
%Ab %p" | head -n 11 | sort -k1M
The sample output should be like this –
Jan /etc/pulse/system.pa Feb /etc/subgid- Mar /etc/gtk-3.0/settings.ini Mar /etc/pulse/client.conf Mar /etc/pulse/daemon.conf Mar /etc/pulse/default.pa May /etc/ltrace.conf May /etc/newt/palette.original May /etc/newt/palette.ubuntu Jul /etc/gtk-3.0/im-multipress.conf
The above command has sorted according to the month.
Sort Files Based on Date
To find the sorted root files based on date, use the following command –
# find / -type f -printf "
%AD %AT %p" | head -n 11
The above command gives the result according to date as shown below –
05/14/13 22:26:41.0000000000 /etc/newt/palette.ubuntu 05/14/13 22:26:41.0000000000 /etc/newt/palette.original 05/10/14 05:20:35.0000000000 /etc/ltrace.conf 03/08/16 11:14:01.9113136790 /etc/pulse/daemon.conf 03/08/16 11:14:01.9193136790 /etc/pulse/default.pa 01/29/15 04:17:39.0000000000 /etc/pulse/system.pa 03/08/16 11:14:01.3433136590 /etc/pulse/client.conf 03/08/16 11:14:00.0873136140 /etc/gtk-3.0/settings.ini 07/01/15 08:44:19.0000000000 /etc/gtk-3.0/im-multipress.conf 02/22/16 10:49:09.0000000000 /etc/subgid-
Sorting Files Based on Time
To find the sorted root files based on time, use the following command –
# find / -type f -printf "
%AT %p" | head -n 11
The sample output should be like this –
22:26:41.0000000000 /etc/newt/palette.ubuntu 22:26:41.0000000000 /etc/newt/palette.original 05:20:35.0000000000 /etc/ltrace.conf 11:14:01.9113136790 /etc/pulse/daemon.conf 11:14:01.9193136790 /etc/pulse/default.pa 04:17:39.0000000000 /etc/pulse/system.pa 11:14:01.3433136590 /etc/pulse/client.conf 11:14:00.0873136140 /etc/gtk-3.0/settings.ini 08:44:19.0000000000 /etc/gtk-3.0/im-multipress.conf 10:49:09.0000000000 /etc/subgid-
Congratulations! Now, you know “How to Find and Sort Files Based on Modification Date and Time in Linux”. We’ll learn more about these types of commands in our next Linux post. Keep reading!
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