On 3/27/25 10:29 PM, Jon LaBadie wrote:
On Wed, Mar 26, 2025 at 03:00:21PM -0600, home user via users wrote:
Good afternoon,
I'm trying to search a directory sub-tree for a specific string. I use this:
find . -type f -print | xargs grep -l [string] /dev/null
(but without the brackets). This often works. But it sometimes fails when the search string contains "printable" characters other than letters and digits. Examples of both:
bash.32[.Organ]: find . -type f -print | xargs grep -l D-_qS_3KXBA /dev/null
./organ_dir.txt
bash.33[.Organ]: find . -type f -print | xargs grep -l -ob9LHPEaKY /dev/null
grep: conflicting matchers specified
bash.34[.Organ]: find . -type f -print | xargs grep -l "-ob9LHPEaKY" /dev/null
grep: conflicting matchers specified
bash.35[.Organ]:
bash.35[.Organ]:
bash.35[.Organ]:
bash.36[.Organ]: find . -type f -print | xargs grep -l '-ob9LHPEaKY' /dev/null
grep: conflicting matchers specified
bash.37[.Organ]:
How do I get this to work even when the search string includes (especially starts with) printable characters other than digits and letters?
Your search strings look like options. For example, -ob9... looks
like the -o option, not a search string.
A very common way around this is to use "--" at the end of
your options. Many commands recognize the solo double dash
to mean no more options follow. So:
find . -type f -print | xargs grep -l -- '-ob9LHPEaKY' /dev/null
should work.
Thank-you, Jon.
That works, and it also works if I use "grep" directly (no "find").
--
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