recursive ls output to file with path?

dwmolyneux · 06-19-2012, 09:36 AM

I was thinking about this and wasn't bringing anything up in a web search but I was wondering if anyone knows:

Is it possible to do a

Code:

ls -a / >> /path/to/file.txt

just once and be able to get all the sub paths or recursive in the output?

I'm just looking for a simple shortcut that will give me an output that I can refernce for easy access.

towheedm · 06-19-2012, 10:14 AM

This might help you: http://mywiki.wooledge.org/BashFAQ/010

bigrigdriver · 06-19-2012, 10:21 AM

Code:

ls -aR / | tee /path/to/file.txt

Run as root, otherwise the list will be incomplete because of users permissions to enter some folders.

However, if you just want to find the location of files, you don't need to do the above.

There is a command pair called updatedb and locate. The updatedb command builds a database of all files on the mounted partitions at the time the command is run, and locate will search that database for the pattern given as an option to the command. Like so: locate vim will find every instance of the pattern *vim* in the database. Careful selection of the search pattern limits the undesired returns.

lithos · 06-19-2012, 10:46 AM

you might also do:

Code:

# find / *  -ls > /path/to/output_file.txt &

and you can expect a loooooooooong list of everything.

good luck