Use find results as command line argument for another process

Question

How can I use find results as a command line argument for another process?

For example:

find -type f -iname "server*error*log" | vim ??

How to make vim to open returned filename?

hek2mgl · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-12 17:52:53Z

4

You need to use the -exec option of find:

find -type f -iname "server*error*log" -exec vim {} \;

The placeholder {} will get replaced by the actual filename. The -exec command needs to get terminated with the \;.

answered Apr 12, 2015 at 17:46

hek2mgl

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Comments

Ben · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-13 03:34:47Z

1

If you want not just one file, but many, to be acted on by one program (in your case editing in Vim), I think you want to pass it to xargs:

find -type f -iname "server*error*log" | xargs vim

answered Apr 13, 2015 at 3:34

Ben

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