Tool Fd

tool-fd

When To Use

• Locate files by name pattern, extension, or type.
• Replace verbose find commands for common file discovery tasks.
• Feed clean path lists into tools like fzf, xargs, and sd.

Trusted Commands

fd "pattern"
fd -e py
fd -g "pyproject.toml"
fd --hidden "pattern"
fd -t f "pattern"
fd -t d "pattern"
fd -e md -x wc -l {}

Safe Defaults

• Use -t f or -t d to constrain result type.
• Use -g for glob semantics and plain expectations.
• Prefer fd and fallback to fdfind on Debian/Ubuntu.

Common Pitfalls

• fd uses regex by default, not shell glob patterns.
• Ignored files are skipped unless explicitly included.
• Distro binary naming differences (fd vs fdfind) can break scripts.

Output Interpretation

• One path per line, relative to the search root.
• Empty output with exit 0 can be valid for narrow patterns.

Why It Matters For Agents

• -x enables safe per-file batch actions without manual loops.
• It is a high-signal way to enumerate candidate files quickly.

Repo Conventions

• Prefer fd over recursive listing for path discovery.
• Respect ignore rules unless task scope says otherwise.

Trigger Examples

• Should trigger: "Find all markdown files under docs quickly."
• Should trigger: "List only directories matching test recursively."
• Should not trigger: "Transform JSON output from an API."