{"slug": "fd", "name": "fd", "category": "terminal", "category_name": "Terminal and shell", "description": "Command-line tool for finding files; a simpler, faster alternative to find.", "recommenders": 6, "commenters": 7, "warners": 0, "score": 5.644, "rising": 2.02, "first": "2025-12-13", "latest": "2026-08-19", "why": "Recommended as a much faster `find` with an interface that fits how people use it, often paired with ripgrep to locate files and code.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 6, "neutral": 1, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 3, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": ["Pairs with ripgrep", "Speed"], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I would recommend you check out `fd`, a much faster `find` with an interface that actually fits how people tend to use the tool.", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": "github.com/sharkdp/fd", "official_url": "https://github.com/sharkdp/fd", "pricing": "open source", "aliases": ["fd"], "verdict": [{"text": "Recommended as a much faster `find` with an interface that fits how people use it", "cites": [{"id": 789816720, "item_id": 49363545, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49363545", "by": "hiAndrewQuinn", "date": "2026-08-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I would recommend you check out `fd`, a much faster `find` with an interface that actually fits how people tend to use the tool.", "excerpt": "Do I have to give just one? I have a whole script to install them! https://github.com/hiAndrewQuinn/shell-bling-ubuntu Looking over this list I would recommend you check out `fd`, a much faster `find` with an interface that actually fits how people tend to use the tool. `lnav` is also an excellent local log viewer if you allow TUIs.", "context": "", "use_case": "finding files", "switched_from": "find", "story": null}, {"id": 786747936, "item_id": 49171746, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49171746", "by": "chime", "date": "2026-08-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Highly recommend `fd` for the sheer speed", "excerpt": "Highly recommend `fd` for the sheer speed: fd -HI \"^(setup\\.mjs|Math_Symbol\\.js|math_init\\.js)$\" 1. https://github.com/sharkdp/fd 2. `brew install fd`", "context": "", "use_case": "searching node_modules files", "switched_from": "", "story": "Keyv and friends compromised in active Shai-Hulud supply chain attack"}]}, {"text": ", often paired with ripgrep to locate files and code.", "cites": [{"id": 744628498, "item_id": 46539281, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46539281", "by": "forgotpwd16", "date": "2026-01-08", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "then fd/rg to find what you're looking for", "excerpt": "If can still edit, may want to add \"Show HN:\" at title's start. >prompt memory tool We used to call this a snippet manager. For Firefox will recommend Clippings. Simple design, folders/search. But if you're on Linux (or even Windows), just make snippets/ directory and drop 'em in there, then fd/rg to find what you're looking for. (Or use a comprehensive tool like @mattn/memo.) But your tool nice too. Is like more org", "context": "", "use_case": "finding snippet files", "switched_from": "", "story": "I kept losing good AI prompts, so I built a prompt memory tool"}, {"id": 740140966, "item_id": 46258810, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46258810", "by": "pxc", "date": "2025-12-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "like `rg` instead of GNU grep or `fd` instead of GNU findutils", "excerpt": "> If a script is simple - I use posix sh + awk, sed, etc. > But if a script I write needs to use arrays, sets, hashtable or processes many files One option that I sometimes use at work (in addition to writing some Python CLIs) that is a pretty nice next step on this spectrum is Bash-with-all-the-fixins'. I use a Nix-based dependency resolver for shell scripts called resholve\u00b9 to parse scripts so that it can identify ", "context": "", "use_case": "finding files in scripts", "switched_from": "", "story": "Using Python for Scripting"}, {"id": 780782291, "item_id": 48798893, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48798893", "by": "skydhash", "date": "2026-07-05", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "sometimes with fd for the file candidates", "excerpt": "I use Emacs and ripgrep with the deadgrep plugin[0]. Emacs does have the `rgrep` command but the plugin presents a nicer interface. With no Emacs, I use `ripgrep` (sometimes with fd for the file candidates) and `less`. I only bother with LSP for projects I'm currently working on. Even then, I sometimes use `project-find-regexp` for whole codebase search. In Vim, I had the fzf plugin[1] with the command `:RG` bound to", "context": "", "use_case": "file candidates", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Good fast IDE for reading and navigating code in multiple languages"}]}, {"text": " No complaints come up in these mentions; it suits terminal users assembling a modern command-line toolkit.", "cites": [{"id": 762176277, "item_id": 47636017, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47636017", "by": "Curiositry", "date": "2026-04-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Fish, zoxide, tmux, helix, ripgrep, fd-find, htop. There are many more, but these are the ones that I enjoy using.", "excerpt": "Fish, zoxide, tmux, helix, ripgrep, fd-find, htop. There are many more, but these are the ones that I enjoy using. (Other than tmux.)", "context": "", "use_case": "finding files", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Which CLI tools do you use daily?"}, {"id": 789816720, "item_id": 49363545, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49363545", "by": "hiAndrewQuinn", "date": "2026-08-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I would recommend you check out `fd`, a much faster `find` with an interface that actually fits how people tend to use the tool.", "excerpt": "Do I have to give just one? I have a whole script to install them! https://github.com/hiAndrewQuinn/shell-bling-ubuntu Looking over this list I would recommend you check out `fd`, a much faster `find` with an interface that actually fits how people tend to use the tool. `lnav` is also an excellent local log viewer if you allow TUIs.", "context": "", "use_case": "finding files", "switched_from": "find", "story": null}, {"id": 740140966, "item_id": 46258810, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46258810", "by": "pxc", "date": "2025-12-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "like `rg` instead of GNU grep or `fd` instead of GNU findutils", "excerpt": "> If a script is simple - I use posix sh + awk, sed, etc. > But if a script I write needs to use arrays, sets, hashtable or processes many files One option that I sometimes use at work (in addition to writing some Python CLIs) that is a pretty nice next step on this spectrum is Bash-with-all-the-fixins'. I use a Nix-based dependency resolver for shell scripts called resholve\u00b9 to parse scripts so that it can identify ", "context": "", "use_case": "finding files in scripts", "switched_from": "", "story": "Using Python for Scripting"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Pairs with ripgrep", "summary": "Commenters use it alongside rg and other modern CLI tools for searching.", "quotes": [{"id": 744628498, "item_id": 46539281, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46539281", "by": "forgotpwd16", "date": "2026-01-08", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "then fd/rg to find what you're looking for", "excerpt": "If can still edit, may want to add \"Show HN:\" at title's start. >prompt memory tool We used to call this a snippet manager. For Firefox will recommend Clippings. Simple design, folders/search. But if you're on Linux (or even Windows), just make snippets/ directory and drop 'em in there, then fd/rg to find what you're looking for. (Or use a comprehensive tool like @mattn/memo.) But your tool nice too. Is like more org", "context": "", "use_case": "finding snippet files", "switched_from": "", "story": "I kept losing good AI prompts, so I built a prompt memory tool"}, {"id": 740140966, "item_id": 46258810, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46258810", "by": "pxc", "date": "2025-12-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "like `rg` instead of GNU grep or `fd` instead of GNU findutils", "excerpt": "> If a script is simple - I use posix sh + awk, sed, etc. > But if a script I write needs to use arrays, sets, hashtable or processes many files One option that I sometimes use at work (in addition to writing some Python CLIs) that is a pretty nice next step on this spectrum is Bash-with-all-the-fixins'. I use a Nix-based dependency resolver for shell scripts called resholve\u00b9 to parse scripts so that it can identify ", "context": "", "use_case": "finding files in scripts", "switched_from": "", "story": "Using Python for Scripting"}, {"id": 780782291, "item_id": 48798893, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48798893", "by": "skydhash", "date": "2026-07-05", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "sometimes with fd for the file candidates", "excerpt": "I use Emacs and ripgrep with the deadgrep plugin[0]. Emacs does have the `rgrep` command but the plugin presents a nicer interface. With no Emacs, I use `ripgrep` (sometimes with fd for the file candidates) and `less`. I only bother with LSP for projects I'm currently working on. Even then, I sometimes use `project-find-regexp` for whole codebase search. In Vim, I had the fzf plugin[1] with the command `:RG` bound to", "context": "", "use_case": "file candidates", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Good fast IDE for reading and navigating code in multiple languages"}]}, {"label": "Speed", "summary": "Praised as much faster than find.", "quotes": [{"id": 789816720, "item_id": 49363545, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49363545", "by": "hiAndrewQuinn", "date": "2026-08-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I would recommend you check out `fd`, a much faster `find` with an interface that actually fits how people tend to use the tool.", "excerpt": "Do I have to give just one? I have a whole script to install them! https://github.com/hiAndrewQuinn/shell-bling-ubuntu Looking over this list I would recommend you check out `fd`, a much faster `find` with an interface that actually fits how people tend to use the tool. `lnav` is also an excellent local log viewer if you allow TUIs.", "context": "", "use_case": "finding files", "switched_from": "find", "story": null}, {"id": 786747936, "item_id": 49171746, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49171746", "by": "chime", "date": "2026-08-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Highly recommend `fd` for the sheer speed", "excerpt": "Highly recommend `fd` for the sheer speed: fd -HI \"^(setup\\.mjs|Math_Symbol\\.js|math_init\\.js)$\" 1. https://github.com/sharkdp/fd 2. `brew install fd`", "context": "", "use_case": "searching node_modules files", "switched_from": "", "story": "Keyv and friends compromised in active Shai-Hulud supply chain attack"}]}, {"label": "Friendlier interface", "summary": "Its interface is said to match how people actually use find.", "quotes": [{"id": 789816720, "item_id": 49363545, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49363545", "by": "hiAndrewQuinn", "date": "2026-08-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I would recommend you check out `fd`, a much faster `find` with an interface that actually fits how people tend to use the tool.", "excerpt": "Do I have to give just one? I have a whole script to install them! https://github.com/hiAndrewQuinn/shell-bling-ubuntu Looking over this list I would recommend you check out `fd`, a much faster `find` with an interface that actually fits how people tend to use the tool. `lnav` is also an excellent local log viewer if you allow TUIs.", "context": "", "use_case": "finding files", "switched_from": "find", "story": null}]}, {"label": "Useful filters", "summary": "Flags like --unrestricted and --size help find large hidden or ignored files.", "quotes": [{"id": 786484992, "item_id": 49155312, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49155312", "by": "peri-cl", "date": "2026-08-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "fd --unrestricted --size +1G", "excerpt": "> \"I'm still cleaning up multi-GB model weights floating around in hidden subdirectories under my user profile from months ago when I was experimenting with local models!\" I used to deal with these kinds of frustrations too. fd --unrestricted --size +1G fd --help -u, --unrestricted... Perform an unrestricted search, including ignored and hidden files. This is an alias for '--no-ignore --hidden'. -S, --size size Limit", "context": "", "use_case": "finding large hidden files", "switched_from": "", "story": "Qwen3.8-Max: A New Bar for Coding and Cowork"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": ["find replacement", "pairs with ripgrep", "for shell scripts", "for disk cleanup", "installable via Homebrew"], "use_cases": ["finding files", "searching node_modules files", "finding large hidden files", "file candidates", "finding snippet files", "finding files in scripts"], "compared": [{"slug": "ripgrep", "name": "ripgrep", "co": 5, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49314700", "title": "item 49314700", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49166874", "title": "Keyv and friends compromised in active Shai-Hulud supply chain attack", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49150470", "title": "Qwen3.8-Max: A New Bar for Coding and Cowork", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48792671", "title": "Ask HN: Good fast IDE for reading and navigating code in multiple languages", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47626747", "title": "Ask HN: Which CLI tools do you use daily?", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46538555", "title": "I kept losing good AI prompts, so I built a prompt memory tool", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 3}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 789816720, "item_id": 49363545, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49363545", "by": "hiAndrewQuinn", "date": "2026-08-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I would recommend you check out `fd`, a much faster `find` with an interface that actually fits how people tend to use the tool.", "excerpt": "Do I have to give just one? I have a whole script to install them! https://github.com/hiAndrewQuinn/shell-bling-ubuntu Looking over this list I would recommend you check out `fd`, a much faster `find` with an interface that actually fits how people tend to use the tool. `lnav` is also an excellent local log viewer if you allow TUIs.", "context": "", "use_case": "finding files", "switched_from": "find", "story": null}, {"id": 786747936, "item_id": 49171746, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49171746", "by": "chime", "date": "2026-08-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Highly recommend `fd` for the sheer speed", "excerpt": "Highly recommend `fd` for the sheer speed: fd -HI \"^(setup\\.mjs|Math_Symbol\\.js|math_init\\.js)$\" 1. https://github.com/sharkdp/fd 2. `brew install fd`", "context": "", "use_case": "searching node_modules files", "switched_from": "", "story": "Keyv and friends compromised in active Shai-Hulud supply chain attack"}, {"id": 786484992, "item_id": 49155312, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49155312", "by": "peri-cl", "date": "2026-08-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "fd --unrestricted --size +1G", "excerpt": "> \"I'm still cleaning up multi-GB model weights floating around in hidden subdirectories under my user profile from months ago when I was experimenting with local models!\" I used to deal with these kinds of frustrations too. fd --unrestricted --size +1G fd --help -u, --unrestricted... Perform an unrestricted search, including ignored and hidden files. This is an alias for '--no-ignore --hidden'. -S, --size size Limit", "context": "", "use_case": "finding large hidden files", "switched_from": "", "story": "Qwen3.8-Max: A New Bar for Coding and Cowork"}, {"id": 780782291, "item_id": 48798893, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48798893", "by": "skydhash", "date": "2026-07-05", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "sometimes with fd for the file candidates", "excerpt": "I use Emacs and ripgrep with the deadgrep plugin[0]. Emacs does have the `rgrep` command but the plugin presents a nicer interface. With no Emacs, I use `ripgrep` (sometimes with fd for the file candidates) and `less`. I only bother with LSP for projects I'm currently working on. Even then, I sometimes use `project-find-regexp` for whole codebase search. In Vim, I had the fzf plugin[1] with the command `:RG` bound to", "context": "", "use_case": "file candidates", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Good fast IDE for reading and navigating code in multiple languages"}, {"id": 762176277, "item_id": 47636017, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47636017", "by": "Curiositry", "date": "2026-04-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Fish, zoxide, tmux, helix, ripgrep, fd-find, htop. There are many more, but these are the ones that I enjoy using.", "excerpt": "Fish, zoxide, tmux, helix, ripgrep, fd-find, htop. There are many more, but these are the ones that I enjoy using. (Other than tmux.)", "context": "", "use_case": "finding files", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Which CLI tools do you use daily?"}, {"id": 744628498, "item_id": 46539281, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46539281", "by": "forgotpwd16", "date": "2026-01-08", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "then fd/rg to find what you're looking for", "excerpt": "If can still edit, may want to add \"Show HN:\" at title's start. >prompt memory tool We used to call this a snippet manager. For Firefox will recommend Clippings. Simple design, folders/search. But if you're on Linux (or even Windows), just make snippets/ directory and drop 'em in there, then fd/rg to find what you're looking for. (Or use a comprehensive tool like @mattn/memo.) But your tool nice too. Is like more org", "context": "", "use_case": "finding snippet files", "switched_from": "", "story": "I kept losing good AI prompts, so I built a prompt memory tool"}, {"id": 740140966, "item_id": 46258810, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46258810", "by": "pxc", "date": "2025-12-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "like `rg` instead of GNU grep or `fd` instead of GNU findutils", "excerpt": "> If a script is simple - I use posix sh + awk, sed, etc. > But if a script I write needs to use arrays, sets, hashtable or processes many files One option that I sometimes use at work (in addition to writing some Python CLIs) that is a pretty nice next step on this spectrum is Bash-with-all-the-fixins'. I use a Nix-based dependency resolver for shell scripts called resholve\u00b9 to parse scripts so that it can identify ", "context": "", "use_case": "finding files in scripts", "switched_from": "", "story": "Using Python for Scripting"}]}