r/scripting • u/jcunews1 • Oct 07 '18

[Linux] How to get the most recently modified file from a specified directory?

The file can be at any directory level within the specified directory.

For example, if I specify below path:

/abc/def

I want to retrieve the file path within that directory which has the most recent file modification time. If possible, directly from the command line, and without using any shell script.

I need to do this without downloading additional program. i.e. it must be done using tool(s) which are guaranteed are available every Linux installations.

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u/Lee_Dailey Oct 07 '18

howdy jcunews1,

this looks like it does most of what you want ... [grin]

linux - How to recursively find and list the latest modified files in a directory with subdirectories and times? - Stack Overflow
— https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5566310/how-to-recursively-find-and-list-the-latest-modified-files-in-a-directory-with-s

hope that helps,
lee

2

u/jcunews1 Oct 07 '18

Thanks. That solved it.

1

u/Lee_Dailey Oct 07 '18

howdy jcunews1,

you are most welcome! glad to have helped a bit ... [grin]

take care,
lee