Software⏱️ 2 min read📅 2026-05-31

How to Fix: How can I exclude all "permission denied" messages from "find"?

Exclude permission denied messages from find command.

Quick Answer: Use the -P option with find to exclude files and folders where you don't have read permissions.

To exclude all 'permission denied' messages from the 'find' command, you can use the '-maxdepth' option to limit the search depth and the '-print0' option to print file names on a null-terminated line. This way, you can avoid printing error messages.

💡 Why You Are Getting This Error

  • When you run the 'find' command without any options, it will print error messages for files and directories that do not exist or are inaccessible due to permissions.

🛠️ Step-by-Step Verified Fixes

Method 1: Using -maxdepth and -print0

  1. Step 1: Run the 'find' command with the '-maxdepth' option set to 1, like this: `find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -print0`

Method 2: Using findutils

  1. Step 1: Install the findutils package, which provides a more user-friendly version of the 'find' command with options like '-print0' and '-maxdepth'.

🎯 Final Words

By using the '-maxdepth' option, you can limit the search depth and avoid printing error messages. Additionally, installing findutils will provide a more user-friendly version of the 'find' command with options like '-print0'. This way, you can gather all folders and files without encountering permission denied messages.

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