grep throughout the whole file system....?

vous · 03-20-2005, 01:10 PM

Hi'all,

I'm trying to find a config setting, but I can't remember where I put it.....(duh, I know). I remember the setting's name, but not where the file's at....

Can someone tell how I can grep through the whole system....

Thanks!

david_ross · 03-20-2005, 01:13 PM

It will probably take a while but:
grep -r "your string" /

If the file's name is "something.conf" then this should be quicker:
find / -name "*.conf" -exec grep -l "your string" \;

vous · 03-20-2005, 01:18 PM

OK, cool!

Is there a way to keep grep from going into some dirs like /dev or /proc for example?

david_ross · 03-20-2005, 01:23 PM

The easiest way is probably just to specify the directories you do want:
grep -r "your string" /etc /root /home /usr/local

You could also do it using find but if you don't want to limit it to a specific file type then just using grep is probably best.

vous · 03-20-2005, 01:30 PM

Yup, indeed!

Thanks Dave!