Windows Linux Text Processing Expanded guide Search

Windows `dir /s /b (recursive list)` equivalent in Linux

Recursively lists every file in a directory tree, one per line — no directories, just files.

Reference maintained by Win-Linux.com · How mappings are evaluated

Windows dir /s /b (recursive list)

→

Linux equivalents

Debian/Ubuntu same command

find . -type f

Fedora same command

find . -type f

Arch same command

find . -type f

Overview

What this command does

On Windows, "dir /s /b (recursive list)" is used to list all files recursively. On Linux, the closest practical mapping shown here is "find . -type f". Recursively lists every file in a directory tree, one per line — no directories, just files. This reference is grouped under Text Processing → Search.

Migration tip: Combine with <code>wc -l</code> to count files, <code>xargs</code> to act on them, or <code>grep</code> to filter by name. <code>-type d</code> lists only directories instead.

Windows → Linux context

What changes when you use this on Linux?

Equivalent task, different tool

Windows dir /s /b (recursive list) maps to find . -type f for this task. Treat this as a workflow mapping rather than a character-for-character syntax translation.

Portable across the compared distros

The Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch rows use the same command in this mapping. Package availability or defaults can still vary, so check the installed tool version when an option behaves differently.

For the broader concept behind this mapping, read Linux command-line basics.

Practical tasks

Common use cases

List all files recursively

Recursively lists every file in a directory tree, one per line — no directories, just files.

find . -type f

All files recursively

find . -type d

All directories recursively

find . -name '*.log'

All .log files

Ready to run

Copyable Linux commands

Review paths, device names, package names and permissions before running any command.

find . -type f

find . -type f | wc -l

find . -name '*.py'

find . -name '*.tmp' -delete

Walkthrough

Examples with explanations

# Windows: dir /s /b
find . -type f              # all files
find . -type f | wc -l     # count files
find . -name '*.py'         # python files only

# Find and delete temp files:
find . -name '*.tmp' -delete

Reference

Common options and variations

Command or option	Use
`find . -type f`	All files recursively
`find . -type d`	All directories recursively
`find . -name '*.log'`	All .log files
`find . -size +10M -type f`	Files larger than 10MB
`find . -empty`	Find empty files and directories
`find . -name '*.tmp' -delete`	Delete all .tmp files

Distro differences

Debian/Ubuntu vs Fedora vs Arch

Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch all use "find . -type f" for this mapping. The command syntax shown here is portable across the three rows, although installed versions and system defaults can still vary.

Distribution	Package manager / base	Equivalent command	Difference to notice
Debian/Ubuntu	same command	`find . -type f`	Same command on this distribution.
Fedora	same command	`find . -type f`	Same command on this distribution.
Arch	same command	`find . -type f`	Same command on this distribution.

Keep learning

What this command does

What changes when you use this on Linux?

Equivalent task, different tool

Portable across the compared distros

Common use cases

List all files recursively

find . -type f

find . -type d

find . -name '*.log'

Copyable Linux commands

Examples with explanations

Common options and variations

Debian/Ubuntu vs Fedora vs Arch

Related Text Processing commands