Hi, I am fairly new to scripting and I am trying to write a script that finds and zips a file named file1.xml from multiple sub-directories. So basically I want to find them and zip them all together. The disk directory structure is as follows:

/mnt/data/user_name1/db/file1.xml
/mnt/data/user_name2/db/file1.xml
(etc, etc where user_name varies)

This is what I have so far, but I keep getting an error relating to the -name command.

filename=`date +%d%m%Y-%H:%M`
find /mnt/data/ -name file1.xml -maxdepth 2 -type d | zip -rp $filename.zip -@

I keep getting the following error but don't know how to fix it. Is what I am trying to do even possible?

find: warning: you have specified the -maxdepth option after a non-option argument -name, but options are not positional (-maxdepth affects tests specified before it as well as those specified after it). Please specify options before other arguments.

Thank you in advance for your patience

You're not getting an error. As the message says, you're getting a "warning." Typically, a warning does not stop the program, but alerts you that you may not get the results you expect. This warning tells you that the -maxdepth option should be placed before -name on the command line. It also says that, in the case of -maxdepth, it will have the desired effect regardless.

In a nutshell, the program is telling you the form of the command is not what the developers expect--certain command line switches can have different effects depending on where they are placed on the command line.

That said, I think your command is wrong for a different reason. You say you are looking for a "file" named "file1.xml" but your find command is looking for a directory (-type d). I think you probably intended "-type f"

Sorry for the delay! I tried change the "d" to and "f" and get the following error. For the record, I'm open to a different way to accomplish this. I'm just learning this stuff...

find: warning: you have specified the -maxdepth option after a non-option argument -name, but options are not positional (-maxdepth affects tests specified before it as well as those specified after it). Please specify options before other arguments.


)ip error: Invalid command arguments (no such option:
: command not foundes.sh: line 9:

Any help is appreciated. I'm open to pay for a fix if someone want's to PM me. Thanks

Ok, would it be possible to post the script here?

The message you copy-pasted this last time included some more info: there's more going on than just a warning from find. There's a parsing error:

And in my experience, that typically means there could be a mistake as simple as a missing space/semicolon or how the script variables are being used or referenced.

So please, if you can, post the script.

Got it working. I'm not sure what the problem was exactly. Thank you for pointing out the "f" switch

filename=`date +%d%m%Y-%H:%M`
find /mnt/data/ \
-name Profile.xml -maxdepth 3 -type f | zip -rp $filename.zip -@