“paths must precede expression” error when trying to find all jpg files in the current directory
while running find command to find all the jpg files in the current directory as
find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name *.jpg
i am getting the error as :
find: paths must precede expression: pic1 (1).jpg
Usage: find [-H] [-L] [-P] [-Olevel] [-Dhelp|tree|search|stat|rates|opt|exec] [path...] [expression]
i am not able to figure out what is wrong with that .
find
edited Mar 14 '11 at 20:28
Lekensteyn
120k48263355
asked Mar 14 '11 at 15:33
Bunny Rabbit
4192817
add a comment |
while running find command to find all the jpg files in the current directory as
find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name *.jpg
i am getting the error as :
find: paths must precede expression: pic1 (1).jpg
Usage: find [-H] [-L] [-P] [-Olevel] [-Dhelp|tree|search|stat|rates|opt|exec] [path...] [expression]
i am not able to figure out what is wrong with that .
find
edited Mar 14 '11 at 20:28
Lekensteyn
120k48263355
asked Mar 14 '11 at 15:33
Bunny Rabbit
4192817
2
If you have a .jpg file in the current directory then your shell will expand your wildcard to be a list of the jpg files. Put your pattern in quotes to prevent this: "*.jpg"
– Jeremy L
Mar 14 '11 at 15:58
@Nerdling: Why don't you make your comment an answer (which it is)? :)
– arrange
Mar 14 '11 at 16:22
add a comment |
while running find command to find all the jpg files in the current directory as
find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name *.jpg
i am getting the error as :
find: paths must precede expression: pic1 (1).jpg
Usage: find [-H] [-L] [-P] [-Olevel] [-Dhelp|tree|search|stat|rates|opt|exec] [path...] [expression]
i am not able to figure out what is wrong with that .
find
edited Mar 14 '11 at 20:28
Lekensteyn
120k48263355
asked Mar 14 '11 at 15:33
Bunny Rabbit
4192817
while running find command to find all the jpg files in the current directory as
find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name *.jpg
i am getting the error as :
find: paths must precede expression: pic1 (1).jpg
Usage: find [-H] [-L] [-P] [-Olevel] [-Dhelp|tree|search|stat|rates|opt|exec] [path...] [expression]
i am not able to figure out what is wrong with that .
find
find
edited Mar 14 '11 at 20:28
Lekensteyn
120k48263355
asked Mar 14 '11 at 15:33
Bunny Rabbit
4192817
edited Mar 14 '11 at 20:28
Lekensteyn
120k48263355
asked Mar 14 '11 at 15:33
Bunny Rabbit
4192817
edited Mar 14 '11 at 20:28
Lekensteyn
120k48263355
edited Mar 14 '11 at 20:28
Lekensteyn
120k48263355
edited Mar 14 '11 at 20:28
Lekensteyn
120k48263355
120k48263355
asked Mar 14 '11 at 15:33
Bunny Rabbit
4192817
asked Mar 14 '11 at 15:33
Bunny Rabbit
4192817
asked Mar 14 '11 at 15:33
Bunny Rabbit
4192817
4192817
2
If you have a .jpg file in the current directory then your shell will expand your wildcard to be a list of the jpg files. Put your pattern in quotes to prevent this: "*.jpg"
– Jeremy L
Mar 14 '11 at 15:58
@Nerdling: Why don't you make your comment an answer (which it is)? :)
– arrange
Mar 14 '11 at 16:22
add a comment |
2
If you have a .jpg file in the current directory then your shell will expand your wildcard to be a list of the jpg files. Put your pattern in quotes to prevent this: "*.jpg"
– Jeremy L
Mar 14 '11 at 15:58
@Nerdling: Why don't you make your comment an answer (which it is)? :)
– arrange
Mar 14 '11 at 16:22
2
2
If you have a .jpg file in the current directory then your shell will expand your wildcard to be a list of the jpg files. Put your pattern in quotes to prevent this: "*.jpg"
– Jeremy L
Mar 14 '11 at 15:58
If you have a .jpg file in the current directory then your shell will expand your wildcard to be a list of the jpg files. Put your pattern in quotes to prevent this: "*.jpg"
– Jeremy L
Mar 14 '11 at 15:58
@Nerdling: Why don't you make your comment an answer (which it is)? :)
– arrange
Mar 14 '11 at 16:22
@Nerdling: Why don't you make your comment an answer (which it is)? :)
– arrange
Mar 14 '11 at 16:22
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
tl;dr Always quote globs in find: find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name "*.jpg" (notice the " characters surrounding *).
In your case, the shell is interpreting *.jpg (note the * character) and trying to match file names within the current directory that end in .jpg. There is a file named pic1 (1).jpg so that file name replaces *.jpg. The command the system is given by the shell becomes
find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name 'pic1 (1).jpg'
To see in depth, try tracing the original command using strace. What is actually executed is:
touch foo.jpg bar.jpg
strace find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name *.jpg 2>&1 | grep jpg
execve("/usr/bin/find", ["find", ".", "-maxdepth", "1", "-type", "f", "-name", "bar.jpg", "foo.jpg"], [/* 62 vars */]) = 0
...
answered Mar 14 '11 at 16:36
l0b0
3,93173259
3
strace is a great tool, but definitely an overkill for somebody who doesn't understand shell expansion. It's much simpler to step back in the shell history and just prepend the command with "echo".
– Adam Byrtek
Mar 14 '11 at 23:42
Alwaysis, as always :) , too often.find proj*-type f -name foobar` will search in every directory which matches ./proj* for example; perfectly valid and reasonable.
– user unknown
Mar 26 '11 at 16:57
add a comment |
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1 Answer
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oldest
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tl;dr Always quote globs in find: find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name "*.jpg" (notice the " characters surrounding *).
In your case, the shell is interpreting *.jpg (note the * character) and trying to match file names within the current directory that end in .jpg. There is a file named pic1 (1).jpg so that file name replaces *.jpg. The command the system is given by the shell becomes
find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name 'pic1 (1).jpg'
To see in depth, try tracing the original command using strace. What is actually executed is:
touch foo.jpg bar.jpg
strace find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name *.jpg 2>&1 | grep jpg
execve("/usr/bin/find", ["find", ".", "-maxdepth", "1", "-type", "f", "-name", "bar.jpg", "foo.jpg"], [/* 62 vars */]) = 0
...
answered Mar 14 '11 at 16:36
l0b0
3,93173259
3
strace is a great tool, but definitely an overkill for somebody who doesn't understand shell expansion. It's much simpler to step back in the shell history and just prepend the command with "echo".
– Adam Byrtek
Mar 14 '11 at 23:42
Alwaysis, as always :) , too often.find proj*-type f -name foobar` will search in every directory which matches ./proj* for example; perfectly valid and reasonable.
– user unknown
Mar 26 '11 at 16:57
add a comment |
tl;dr Always quote globs in find: find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name "*.jpg" (notice the " characters surrounding *).
In your case, the shell is interpreting *.jpg (note the * character) and trying to match file names within the current directory that end in .jpg. There is a file named pic1 (1).jpg so that file name replaces *.jpg. The command the system is given by the shell becomes
find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name 'pic1 (1).jpg'
To see in depth, try tracing the original command using strace. What is actually executed is:
touch foo.jpg bar.jpg
strace find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name *.jpg 2>&1 | grep jpg
execve("/usr/bin/find", ["find", ".", "-maxdepth", "1", "-type", "f", "-name", "bar.jpg", "foo.jpg"], [/* 62 vars */]) = 0
...
answered Mar 14 '11 at 16:36
l0b0
3,93173259
3
strace is a great tool, but definitely an overkill for somebody who doesn't understand shell expansion. It's much simpler to step back in the shell history and just prepend the command with "echo".
– Adam Byrtek
Mar 14 '11 at 23:42
Alwaysis, as always :) , too often.find proj*-type f -name foobar` will search in every directory which matches ./proj* for example; perfectly valid and reasonable.
– user unknown
Mar 26 '11 at 16:57
add a comment |
tl;dr Always quote globs in find: find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name "*.jpg" (notice the " characters surrounding *).
In your case, the shell is interpreting *.jpg (note the * character) and trying to match file names within the current directory that end in .jpg. There is a file named pic1 (1).jpg so that file name replaces *.jpg. The command the system is given by the shell becomes
find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name 'pic1 (1).jpg'
To see in depth, try tracing the original command using strace. What is actually executed is:
touch foo.jpg bar.jpg
strace find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name *.jpg 2>&1 | grep jpg
execve("/usr/bin/find", ["find", ".", "-maxdepth", "1", "-type", "f", "-name", "bar.jpg", "foo.jpg"], [/* 62 vars */]) = 0
...
answered Mar 14 '11 at 16:36
l0b0
3,93173259
tl;dr Always quote globs in find: find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name "*.jpg" (notice the " characters surrounding *).
In your case, the shell is interpreting *.jpg (note the * character) and trying to match file names within the current directory that end in .jpg. There is a file named pic1 (1).jpg so that file name replaces *.jpg. The command the system is given by the shell becomes
find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name 'pic1 (1).jpg'
To see in depth, try tracing the original command using strace. What is actually executed is:
touch foo.jpg bar.jpg
strace find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name *.jpg 2>&1 | grep jpg
execve("/usr/bin/find", ["find", ".", "-maxdepth", "1", "-type", "f", "-name", "bar.jpg", "foo.jpg"], [/* 62 vars */]) = 0
...
answered Mar 14 '11 at 16:36
l0b0
3,93173259
edited Jan 2 at 5:22
answered Mar 14 '11 at 16:36
l0b0
3,93173259
answered Mar 14 '11 at 16:36
l0b0
3,93173259
answered Mar 14 '11 at 16:36
l0b0
3,93173259
3,93173259
3
strace is a great tool, but definitely an overkill for somebody who doesn't understand shell expansion. It's much simpler to step back in the shell history and just prepend the command with "echo".
– Adam Byrtek
Mar 14 '11 at 23:42
Alwaysis, as always :) , too often.find proj*-type f -name foobar` will search in every directory which matches ./proj* for example; perfectly valid and reasonable.
– user unknown
Mar 26 '11 at 16:57
add a comment |
3
strace is a great tool, but definitely an overkill for somebody who doesn't understand shell expansion. It's much simpler to step back in the shell history and just prepend the command with "echo".
– Adam Byrtek
Mar 14 '11 at 23:42
Alwaysis, as always :) , too often.find proj*-type f -name foobar` will search in every directory which matches ./proj* for example; perfectly valid and reasonable.
– user unknown
Mar 26 '11 at 16:57
3
3
strace is a great tool, but definitely an overkill for somebody who doesn't understand shell expansion. It's much simpler to step back in the shell history and just prepend the command with "echo".
– Adam Byrtek
Mar 14 '11 at 23:42
strace is a great tool, but definitely an overkill for somebody who doesn't understand shell expansion. It's much simpler to step back in the shell history and just prepend the command with "echo".
– Adam Byrtek
Mar 14 '11 at 23:42
Always is, as always :) , too often. find proj* -type f -name foobar` will search in every directory which matches ./proj* for example; perfectly valid and reasonable.– user unknown
Mar 26 '11 at 16:57
Always is, as always :) , too often. find proj* -type f -name foobar` will search in every directory which matches ./proj* for example; perfectly valid and reasonable.– user unknown
Mar 26 '11 at 16:57
add a comment |
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2
If you have a .jpg file in the current directory then your shell will expand your wildcard to be a list of the jpg files. Put your pattern in quotes to prevent this: "*.jpg"
– Jeremy L
Mar 14 '11 at 15:58
@Nerdling: Why don't you make your comment an answer (which it is)? :)
– arrange
Mar 14 '11 at 16:22