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Using `bfs`
===========
`bfs` has the same command line syntax as `find`, and almost any `find` command that works with a major `find` implementation will also work with `bfs`.
When invoked with no arguments, `bfs` will list everything under the current directory recursively, breadth-first:
```console
$ bfs
.
./GNUmakefile
./LICENSE
./README.md
./completions
./docs
./src
./tests
./completions/bfs.bash
./completions/bfs.zsh
./docs/BUILDING.md
./docs/CHANGELOG.md
./docs/CONTRIBUTING.md
./docs/USAGE.md
./docs/bfs.1
...
```
Paths
-----
Arguments that don't begin with `-` are treated as paths to search.
If one or more paths are specified, they are used instead of the current directory:
```console
$ bfs /usr/bin /usr/lib
/usr/bin
/usr/lib
/usr/bin/bfs
...
/usr/lib/libc.so
...
```
Expressions
-----------
Arguments that start with `-` form an *expression* which `bfs` evaluates to filter the matched files, and to do things with the files that match.
The most common expression is probably `-name`, which matches filenames against a glob pattern:
```console
$ bfs -name '*.md'
./README.md
./docs/BUILDING.md
./docs/CHANGELOG.md
./docs/CONTRIBUTING.md
./docs/USAGE.md
```
### Operators
When you put multiple expressions next to each other, both of them must match:
```console
$ bfs -name '*.md' -name '*ING*'
./docs/BUILDING.md
./docs/CONTRIBUTING.md
```
This works because the expressions are implicitly combined with *logical and*.
You could be explicit by writing
```console
$ bfs -name '*.md' -and -name '*ING'`
```
There are other operators like `-or`:
```console
$ bfs -name '*.md' -or -name 'bfs.*'
./README.md
./completions/bfs.bash
./completions/bfs.fish
./completions/bfs.zsh
./docs/BUILDING.md
./docs/CHANGELOG.md
./docs/CONTRIBUTING.md
./docs/USAGE.md
./docs/bfs.1
```
and `-not`:
```console
$ bfs -name '*.md' -and -not -name '*ING*'
./README.md
./docs/CHANGELOG.md
./docs/USAGE.md
```
### Actions
Every `bfs` expression returns either `true` or `false`.
For expressions like `-name`, that's all they do.
But some expressions, called *actions*, have other side effects.
If no actions are included in the expression, `bfs` adds the `-print` action automatically, which is why the above examples actually print any output.
The default `-print` is supressed if any actions are given explicitly.
Available actions include printing with alternate formats (`-ls`, `-printf`, etc.), executing commands (`-exec`, `-execdir`, etc.), deleting files (`-delete`), and stopping the search (`-quit`, `-exit`).
Extensions
----------
`bfs` implements a few extensions not found in other `find` implementations.
### `-exclude`
The `-exclude` operator skips an entire subtree whenever an expression matches.
For example, `-exclude -name .git` will exclude any files or directories named `.git` from the search results.
`-exclude` is easier to use than the standard `-prune` action; compare
bfs -name config -exclude -name .git
to the equivalent
find ! \( -name .git -prune \) -name config
Unlike `-prune`, `-exclude` even works in combination with `-depth`/`-delete`.
---
### `-limit`
The `-limit N` action makes `bfs` quit once it gets evaluated `N` times.
Placing it after an action like `-print` limits the number of results that get printed, for example:
```console
$ bfs -s -type f -name '*.txt'
./1.txt
./2.txt
./3.txt
./4.txt
$ bfs -s -type f -name '*.txt' -print -limit 2
./1.txt
./2.txt
```
This is similar to
```console
$ bfs -s -type f -name '*.txt' | head -n2
```
but more powerful because you can apply separate limits to different expressions:
```console
$ bfs \( -name '*.txt' -print -limit 3 -o -name '*.log' -print -limit 4 \) -limit 5
[At most 3 .txt files, at most 4 .log files, and at most 5 in total]
```
and more efficient because it will quit immediately.
When piping to `head`, `bfs` will only quit *after* it tries to output too many results.
---
### `-hidden`/`-nohidden`
`-hidden` matches "hidden" files (dotfiles).
`bfs -hidden` is effectively shorthand for
find \( -name '.*' -not -name . -not -name .. \)
`-nohidden` is equivalent to `-exclude -hidden`.
---
### `-unique`
This option ensures that `bfs` only visits each file once, even if it's reachable through multiple hard or symbolic links.
It's particularly useful when following symbolic links (`-L`).
---
### `-color`/`-nocolor`
When printing to a terminal, `bfs` automatically colors paths like GNU `ls`, according to the `LS_COLORS` environment variable.
The `-color` and `-nocolor` options override the automatic behavior, which may be handy when you want to preserve colors through a pipe:
bfs -color | less -R
If the [`NO_COLOR`](https://no-color.org/) environment variable is set, colors will be disabled by default.
|
