How to Get Files Matching a Specific Pattern in a Directory

Anyquery is a SQL query engine that allows you to run SQL queries on various data sources, including files in a directory. In this tutorial, we will guide you on how to get files matching a specific pattern in a directory using Anyquery.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have the following:

• A working installation of Anyquery.

Step 1: Install the File Plugin

First, install the file plugin in Anyquery. This plugin enables you to query files in a directory with SQL.

anyquery install file

Step 2: Query Files Matching a Specific Pattern

To get files matching a specific pattern in a directory, you can use the file_search table function. This function takes a pattern as an argument and returns files matching that pattern.

Example Query

Let's say you want to find all .txt files in the /path/to/directory directory. You can run the following SQL query:

SELECT * FROM file_search('/path/to/directory/*.txt');

Alternatively, you can use the file_search function in the shell mode:

anyquery

SELECT * FROM file_search('/path/to/directory/*.txt');

Filtering Files

You can further filter the results using SQL WHERE clauses:

-- Get .txt files larger than 1MB
SELECT * FROM file_search('/path/to/directory/*.txt') WHERE size > 1048576;

-- Get .log files modified in the last 7 days
SELECT * FROM file_search('/path/to/directory/*.log') WHERE last_modified > datetime('now', '-7 days');

See the functions documentation for more information on the available functions.

Step 3: Exporting Results

You can also export the results to various formats like JSON, CSV, or plain text.

Export to CSV

anyquery -q "SELECT * FROM file_search('/path/to/directory/*.txt')" --csv > files.csv

Export to JSON

anyquery -q "SELECT * FROM file_search('/path/to/directory/*.txt')" --json > files.json

Refer to the exporting results documentation for more information on exporting data.

Schema

The file_search table has the following schema:

Conclusion

Using Anyquery and the file plugin, you can easily query and filter files in a directory based on specific patterns. This tutorial covered the installation of the file plugin, querying files with a specific pattern, and exporting the results.

For more information, refer to the Anyquery documentation.