Here's what I have so far:
for file in $(find /path/to/directory -type f); echo $file; done
but I get this error:
zsh: parse error near `done'
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smci
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Paul Baltescu
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missing a `do` after the first ; – AmaJayJB Jun 20 '22 at 13:46
2 Answers
95
There is no need to use find. You could try the following:
for file in /path/to/directory/**/*(.); do echo $file; done
or
for file in /path/to/directory/**/*(.); echo $file
- the
**pattern matches multiple directories recursively. Soa/**/bmatches anybsomewhere belowa. It is essentially matches the listfind a -name bproduces. (.)is a glob qualifier and tells zsh to only match plain files. It is the equivalent to the-type foption fromfind.- you do not really need double quotes around
$filebecause zsh does not split variables into words on substitution. - the first version is the regular form of the
for-loop; the second one is the short form withoutdoanddone
The reason for the error you get is due to the last point: when running a single command in the loop you need either both do and done or none of them. If you want to run more than one command in the loop, you must use them.
Adaephon
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This prints an error if no files could be found. How would one disable that message? – Lars Nyström Apr 19 '21 at 10:19
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2@LarsNyström You can add `N` to the glob qualifier, e. g. `for file in /path/to/directory/**/*(N.); echo $file`. This sets the `NULL_GLOB` option for that pattern, which deletes the pattern from the argument list instead of reporting an error. So in case no matching files exist, the command would effectively be reduced to `for file in ; echo $file`. – Adaephon Jun 04 '21 at 08:45
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Answer is a goldmine for leveraging great features in zsh. Awesome explanation and referencing. – Ari Sep 21 '22 at 04:01
3
Can you check if adding "" around $file solves this problem like so:
for file in $(find /path/to/directory -type f); echo "$file"; done
Edit:
add do before echo and let me know if it solves the problem:
for file in $(find /path/to/directory -type f); do echo "$file"; done
Ganesh Kamath - 'Code Frenzy'
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1In `zsh`, unlike in `bash`, wordsplitting is disabled by default (unless for some reason you set `sh_word_split`) and quoting variables has no effect. – Resigned June 2023 Mar 05 '17 at 02:49