# win_find – Return a list of files based on specific criteria

- Synopsis
- Parameters
- Examples
- Return Values
- Status

## Synopsis

- Return a list of files based on specified criteria.
- Multiple criteria are AND’d together.
- For non-Windows targets, use the find module instead.

## Parameters

Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments
--- | --- | ---
age string |  | Select files or folders whose age is equal to or greater than the specified time. Use a negative age to find files equal to or less than the specified time. You can choose seconds, minutes, hours, days or weeks by specifying the first letter of an of those words (e.g., "2s", "10d", 1w").

age_stamp
string

Choices:
- atime
- ctime
- mtime ←

Choose the file property against which we compare `age`.
The default attribute we compare with is the last modification time.

checksum_algorithm
string

Choices:
- md5
- sha1 ←
- sha256
- sha384
- sha512

Algorithm to determine the checksum of a file.
Will throw an error if the host is unable to use specified algorithm.

file_type
string

Choices:
- directory
- file ←

Type of file to search for.

follow
boolean

Choices:
- no ←
- yes

Set this to `yes` to follow symlinks in the path.
This needs to be used in conjunction with `recurse`.

get_checksum
boolean

Choices:
- no
- yes ←

Whether to return a checksum of the file in the return info (default sha1), use `checksum_algorithm` to change from the default.

hidden
boolean

Choices:
- no ←
- yes

Set this to include hidden files or folders.

paths list / required |  | List of paths of directories to search for files or folders in. This can be supplied as a single path or a list of paths.
patterns list |  | One or more (powershell or regex) patterns to compare filenames with. The type of pattern matching is controlled by `use_regex` option. The patterns restrict the list of files or folders to be returned based on the filenames. For a file to be matched it only has to match with one pattern in a list provided. aliases: regex, regexp

recurse
boolean

Choices:
- no ←
- yes

Will recursively descend into the directory looking for files or folders.

size string |  | Select files or folders whose size is equal to or greater than the specified size. Use a negative value to find files equal to or less than the specified size. You can specify the size with a suffix of the byte type i.e. kilo = k, mega = m... Size is not evaluated for symbolic links.

use_regex
boolean

Choices:
- no ←
- yes

Will set patterns to run as a regex check if set to `yes`.

## Examples

    - name: Find files in path
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp

    - name: Find hidden files in path
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp
        hidden: yes

    - name: Find files in multiple paths
      win_find:
        paths:
        - C:\Temp
        - D:\Temp

    - name: Find files in directory while searching recursively
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp
        recurse: yes

    - name: Find files in directory while following symlinks
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp
        recurse: yes
        follow: yes

    - name: Find files with .log and .out extension using powershell wildcards
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp
        patterns: [ '*.log', '*.out' ]

    - name: Find files in path based on regex pattern
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp
        patterns: out_\d{8}-\d{6}.log

    - name: Find files older than 1 day
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp
        age: 86400

    - name: Find files older than 1 day based on create time
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp
        age: 86400
        age_stamp: ctime

    - name: Find files older than 1 day with unit syntax
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp
        age: 1d

    - name: Find files newer than 1 hour
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp
        age: -3600

    - name: Find files newer than 1 hour with unit syntax
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp
        age: -1h

    - name: Find files larger than 1MB
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp
        size: 1048576

    - name: Find files larger than 1GB with unit syntax
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp
        size: 1g

    - name: Find files smaller than 1MB
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp
        size: -1048576

    - name: Find files smaller than 1GB with unit syntax
      win_find:
        paths: D:\Temp
        size: -1g

    - name: Find folders/symlinks in multiple paths
      win_find:
        paths:
        - C:\Temp
        - D:\Temp
        file_type: directory

    - name: Find files and return SHA256 checksum of files found
      win_find:
        paths: C:\Temp
        get_checksum: yes
        checksum_algorithm: sha256

    - name: Find files and do not return the checksum
      win_find:
        paths: C:\Temp
        get_checksum: no

## Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key | Returned | Description
--- | --- | ---
examined integer | always | The number of files/folders that was checked. Sample: 10
files complex | success | Information on the files/folders that match the criteria returned as a list of dictionary elements for each file matched. The entries are sorted by the path value alphabetically.
| attributes string | success, path exists | attributes of the file at path in raw form. Sample: Archive, Hidden
| checksum string | success, path exists, path is a file, get_checksum == True | The checksum of a file based on checksum_algorithm specified. Sample: 09cb79e8fc7453c84a07f644e441fd81623b7f98
| creationtime float | success, path exists | The create time of the file represented in seconds since epoch. Sample: 1477984205.15
| extension string | success, path exists, path is a file | The extension of the file at path. Sample: .ps1
| filename string | success, path exists | The name of the file. Sample: temp
| isarchive boolean | success, path exists | If the path is ready for archiving or not. Sample: True
| isdir boolean | success, path exists | If the path is a directory or not. Sample: True
| ishidden boolean | success, path exists | If the path is hidden or not. Sample: True
| islnk boolean | success, path exists | If the path is a symbolic link or junction or not. Sample: True
| isreadonly boolean | success, path exists | If the path is read only or not. Sample: True
| isshared boolean | success, path exists | If the path is shared or not. Sample: True
| lastaccesstime float | success, path exists | The last access time of the file represented in seconds since epoch. Sample: 1477984205.15
| lastwritetime float | success, path exists | The last modification time of the file represented in seconds since epoch. Sample: 1477984205.15
| lnk_source string | success, path exists, path is a symbolic link | The target of the symbolic link, will return null if not a link or the link is broken. Sample: C:\temp
| owner string | success, path exists | The owner of the file. Sample: BUILTIN\Administrators
| path string | success, path exists | The full absolute path to the file. Sample: BUILTIN\Administrators
| sharename string | success, path exists, path is a directory and isshared == True | The name of share if folder is shared. Sample: file-share
| size integer | success, path exists, path is not a link | The size in bytes of a file or folder. Sample: 1024
matched integer | always | The number of files/folders that match the criteria. Sample: 2

## Status

- This module is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface. [preview]
- This module is maintained by the Ansible Community. [community]

### Authors

- Jordan Borean (@jborean93)

Hint

If you notice any issues in this documentation, you can edit this document to improve it.