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
– poige, Commented 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
– Kellen Stuart, Commented Nov 16, 2016 at 21:46

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

67

try:

   find . -type f -exec cat {} +

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answered May 23, 2013 at 21:28

Raza

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

25

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

2 Answers 2