Find Files Modified Today with find -mtime
List everything changed recently in a folder tree before syncing or backing it up.
Run `find ~/Documents -type f -mtime -1` for files changed within 24 hours, or `-mmin -60` for the last hour.
01Command
Command
$ find ~/Documents -type f -mtime -1 -print02What it does
`-mtime -1` means modified less than one day ago; `-mmin` takes minutes for finer windows. Combine with `-size +10M` or `-name "*.docx"` to narrow results, and append `-exec cp {} /target \;` to collect the changed files into a backup folder in one step.
03Risk
!Warning: `-mtime +1` (plus) means older than, while `-1` means within — the sign is easy to get backwards. Directories are files too for find; keep `-type f` to list only documents.
04Undo
✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.
05Sources
- find – Walk a file hierarchyEvidence: Documents -mtime, -mmin tests for modification time
Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: Files & Folders
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