cat files in current folder and all subfolders [duplicate]

Question

I want to cat a file in current folder and all files in all subfolders (and subsubfolders).

Here is my directory structure

$ tree
.
├── f
│   └── foo
└── yo

I want to cat foo and yo.

I've tried this command but did not work:

cat */*

It just cats foo.

Dup. unix.stackexchange.com/q/76418/6622 You search before asking — poige, May 24, 2013 at 4:51
Super dangerous to do this because the files may contain commands. You should always run a file on the file first — Kellen Stuart, Nov 16, 2016 at 21:46

Stéphane Chazelas · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-25 07:09:56Z

63

try:

   find . -type f -exec cat {} +

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answered May 23, 2013 at 21:28

Raza

4,0897 gold badges29 silver badges33 bronze badges

11

What's the + for? I used to end these type of commands with \;.
– Stephen Rasku
Jun 1, 2017 at 20:31
1

@StephenRasku - stackoverflow.com/questions/6085156/…
– But those new buttons though..
Sep 11, 2018 at 19:29
4

-exec foo {} \; is foo x; foo y; foo z;, but -exec foo {} + is foo x y z.
– Dale C. Anderson
Dec 8, 2020 at 0:04

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user4443user4443 · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-23 23:53:01Z

24

cat accepts multiple arguments, so you can:

  cat * */*

to cat everything in the current directory and in all subdirectories. You can also

  cat * */* */*/*

and so on, if you want.

Note, of course, that your shell is translating those '*'s into a list of files then passing that whole list to cat.

answered May 23, 2013 at 23:53

user4443

1

With shopt -s globstar enabled on bash 4+, you can use cat ** instead of the second one.
– evilsoup
May 25, 2013 at 11:07
3

That's not a useful solution, as you need to know how many layers deep to go.
– brianmearns
Oct 25, 2016 at 15:06
Moreover, the directories will be processed
– Rémi B.
Nov 22, 2018 at 18:32

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2 Answers 2