file · Command reference

`qzx findFiles`

What it does

Finds files by name, depth, size, and modification date with structured metadata

Command maturity: Alpha

Available for real use and feedback while its interface and behavior can still evolve. This is the current development-checkout assessment. Every future immutable release tag preserves the exact assessment shipped by that version. Available in PyPI 0.2.2.0.8. This page documents the 0.2.2.0.8 alpha development checkout.

Behavior and built-in protections

Inspects without changing state

Direct execution for this operation

Works without invoking native programs

Works without network access

No elevation required by design

This safety classification was reviewed by OpenAI GPT-5.6 Pro against implementation digest sha256:12717a5382f7fc0b8b27847c67aaf89741ae65a55241683f7b293715ee2e279b on 2026-08-25.

Exact syntax

qzx findFiles [search_path] [pattern] [recursive] [min_size] [max_size] [modified_after] [modified_before] [exclude] [exclude_dirs] [sort_by] [descending] [limit] --json

Parameters

Swipe or use the horizontal scrollbar to see every column.

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
search_path	str	No	"."	Directory where the search starts
pattern	str	No	"*"	File name glob such as *.txt or data-???.csv; defaults to all files
recursive	str	No	"-r"	Search depth: -r for unlimited, false for this directory only, or -rN for N levels
min_size	str	No	Not declared	Minimum size, for example 500KB, 10MiB, or bytes
max_size	str	No	Not declared	Maximum size, for example 2GB, 20MiB, or bytes
modified_after	str	No	Not declared	Only files modified at or after YYYY-MM-DD, "today", or "yesterday"
modified_before	str	No	Not declared	Only files modified before YYYY-MM-DD, "today", or "yesterday"
exclude	str	No	Not declared	Comma-separated file-name globs to exclude
exclude_dirs	str	No	Not declared	Comma-separated directory-name globs to skip
sort_by	str	No	"path"	Sort by path, name, size, or modified
descending	bool	No	false	Reverse the selected sort order (true/false)
limit	str	No	Not declared	Maximum number of files returned after sorting

Input examples

qzx findFiles . "*.py" --exclude-dirs ".git,.venv"

Find Python files recursively while skipping common metadata directories

qzx findFiles Downloads "*" --min-size 100MiB --sort-by size --descending true --limit 20

Return the 20 largest matching files of at least 100 MiB

qzx findFiles logs "*.log" --modified-after 2026-07-01 --recursive false

Find recently modified log files in one directory

For the complete structured payload, add --json: qzx findFiles [search_path] [pattern] [recursive] [min_size] [max_size] [modified_after] [modified_before] [exclude] [exclude_dirs] [sort_by] [descending] [limit] --json

Observed output example

Captured with QZX 0.2.2.0.8 on Windows 11; exit code 0. Host-dependent values and duration can vary.

Example command: qzx findFiles ../artifacts/qzx-evidence/find-files "*.txt" -r --json

{
    "success": true,
    "message": "Found 2 matching files in 'C:\\Team Dropbox\\Valis Idealis\\Ale\\Programacion\\QZX - Quick Zap Exchange\\artifacts\\qzx-evidence\\find-files'. Returning 2 files totaling 13.00 B.",
    "search_path": "C:\\Team Dropbox\\Valis Idealis\\Ale\\Programacion\\QZX - Quick Zap Exchange\\artifacts\\qzx-evidence\\find-files",
    "pattern": "*.txt",
    "recursive": "unlimited",
    "filters": {
        "min_size_bytes": null,
        "max_size_bytes": null,
        "modified_after": null,
        "modified_before": null,
        "exclude": [],
        "exclude_dirs": []
    },
    "sort": {
        "by": "path",
        "descending": false
    },
    "matched_count": 2,
    "matched_size_bytes": 13,
    "matched_size_readable": "13.00 B",
    "count": 2,
    "total_size_bytes": 13,
    "total_size_readable": "13.00 B",
    "limit": null,
    "truncated": false,
    "skipped_unreadable": 0,
    "warnings": [],
    "results": [
        {
            "name": "alpha.txt",
            "path": "C:\\Team Dropbox\\Valis Idealis\\Ale\\Programacion\\QZX - Quick Zap Exchange\\artifacts\\qzx-evidence\\find-files\\alpha.txt",
            "relative_path": "alpha.txt",
            "depth": 0,
            "size_bytes": 7,
            "size_readable": "7.00 B",
            "modified_timestamp": 1788913185.7912128,
            "modified_at": "2026-09-08T19:19:45-05:00"
        },
        {
            "name": "beta.txt",
            "path": "C:\\Team Dropbox\\Valis Idealis\\Ale\\Programacion\\QZX - Quick Zap Exchange\\artifacts\\qzx-evidence\\find-files\\nested\\beta.txt",
            "relative_path": "nested\\beta.txt",
            "depth": 1,
            "size_bytes": 6,
            "size_readable": "6.00 B",
            "modified_timestamp": 1788913185.7912128,
            "modified_at": "2026-09-08T19:19:45-05:00"
        }
    ],
    "meta": {
        "command": "findFiles",
        "command_maturity": {
            "stage": "alpha",
            "label": "Alpha",
            "sequence": 2,
            "public_executable": true,
            "stability": "interface_may_change",
            "summary": "Available for real use and feedback while its interface and behavior can still evolve.",
            "promotion_review_required": false,
            "assessment_scope": "development_checkout"
        },
        "duration_ms": 3.926,
        "schema_version": 1
    }
}

View the JSON result contract

{
    "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
    "type": "object",
    "required": [
        "success",
        "message",
        "meta"
    ],
    "properties": {
        "success": {
            "type": "boolean"
        },
        "message": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "meta": {
            "type": "object",
            "required": [
                "command",
                "command_maturity",
                "duration_ms",
                "schema_version"
            ],
            "properties": {
                "command": {
                    "type": "string"
                },
                "command_maturity": {
                    "type": "object",
                    "required": [
                        "stage",
                        "label",
                        "sequence",
                        "public_executable",
                        "stability",
                        "summary",
                        "promotion_review_required",
                        "assessment_scope"
                    ],
                    "properties": {
                        "stage": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "label": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "sequence": {
                            "type": "integer"
                        },
                        "public_executable": {
                            "type": "boolean"
                        },
                        "stability": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "summary": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "promotion_review_required": {
                            "type": "boolean"
                        },
                        "assessment_scope": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "note": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "review": {
                            "type": "object",
                            "required": [
                                "reviewed_on",
                                "rationale",
                                "evidence"
                            ],
                            "properties": {
                                "reviewed_on": {
                                    "type": "string",
                                    "format": "date"
                                },
                                "rationale": {
                                    "type": "string"
                                },
                                "evidence": {
                                    "type": "array",
                                    "minItems": 1,
                                    "items": {
                                        "type": "string"
                                    }
                                },
                                "replacement": {
                                    "type": "string"
                                }
                            },
                            "additionalProperties": false
                        }
                    },
                    "additionalProperties": true
                },
                "duration_ms": {
                    "type": "number"
                },
                "schema_version": {
                    "type": "integer"
                }
            },
            "additionalProperties": true
        },
        "count": [],
        "filters": {
            "type": "object",
            "properties": {
                "min_size_bytes": [],
                "max_size_bytes": [],
                "modified_after": [],
                "modified_before": [],
                "exclude": [],
                "exclude_dirs": []
            },
            "additionalProperties": true
        },
        "limit": [],
        "matched_count": [],
        "matched_size_bytes": [],
        "matched_size_readable": [],
        "pattern": [],
        "recursive": [],
        "results": [],
        "search_path": [],
        "skipped_unreadable": [],
        "sort": {
            "type": "object",
            "properties": {
                "by": [],
                "descending": []
            },
            "additionalProperties": true
        },
        "total_size_bytes": [],
        "total_size_readable": [],
        "truncated": [],
        "warnings": []
    },
    "additionalProperties": true
}

Errors and limits

The public contract requires success=false and a descriptive message on failure. This catalog does not yet declare a command-specific error taxonomy; inspect the result and do not invent error codes.

QZX is alpha software. Optional dependencies, permissions, and host capabilities can change the result.

{
    "success": false,
    "message": "Search directory does not exist: C:\\Team Dropbox\\Valis Idealis\\Ale\\Programacion\\QZX - Quick Zap Exchange\\artifacts\\qzx-evidence\\missing-golden-core-path",
    "error": "Search directory does not exist: C:\\Team Dropbox\\Valis Idealis\\Ale\\Programacion\\QZX - Quick Zap Exchange\\artifacts\\qzx-evidence\\missing-golden-core-path",
    "error_code": "path_not_found",
    "details": {
        "search_path": "C:\\Team Dropbox\\Valis Idealis\\Ale\\Programacion\\QZX - Quick Zap Exchange\\artifacts\\qzx-evidence\\missing-golden-core-path"
    },
    "meta": {
        "command": "findFiles",
        "command_maturity": {
            "stage": "alpha",
            "label": "Alpha",
            "sequence": 2,
            "public_executable": true,
            "stability": "interface_may_change",
            "summary": "Available for real use and feedback while its interface and behavior can still evolve.",
            "promotion_review_required": false,
            "assessment_scope": "development_checkout"
        },
        "duration_ms": 10.015,
        "schema_version": 1
    }
}

Captured command: qzx findFiles ../artifacts/qzx-evidence/missing-golden-core-path "*.txt" -r --json

Evidence workflow: captured and digest-validated.

Evidence and provenance

Implementation: src/qzx/commands/file/find_files.py
Tests: tests/test_file_commands/test_find_files.py
Documentation channel: Development documentation 0.2.2.0.8 · main · sha256:9aa902dfb6b006017e52972bf7871fef49b03ec24ff80741231d743d0354bfc2
Availability: 0.2.2.0.8 or earlier

Practical guide

Learn when qzx findFiles fits the task, how native operating-system tools compare, and which details matter in automation.

13 min read
How to check disk space on Windows, Linux, and macOS
Windows, Linux, and macOS expose disk capacity differently. Learn the native commands, what their numbers mean, and how QZX provides one structured cross-platform request.
Read the practical guide

Keep exploring

These commands also belong to the file category. Compare them to choose the operation that best fits your task.

Explore all QZX commands