search_files
Find files and directories by name pattern across subdirectories. Search recursively from a starting path with case-insensitive matching for partial names.
Instructions
Recursively search for files and directories matching a pattern. Searches through all subdirectories from the starting path. The search is case-insensitive and matches partial names. Returns full paths to all matching items. Great for finding files when you don't know their exact location. Only searches within allowed directories.
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| path | Yes | Root path to start searching from | |
| pattern | Yes | Pattern to match against filenames and directories | |
| excludePatterns | No | Patterns to exclude from search results |
Implementation Reference
- src/index.ts:606-680 (handler)The main handler for the 'search_files' tool. Validates input using SearchFilesArgsSchema, performs recursive search starting from the given path, matches filenames case-insensitively against the pattern, supports excludePatterns using minimatch globs, collects full paths of matches, and returns formatted results or 'No matches found'.
case 'search_files': { const parsed = SearchFilesArgsSchema.safeParse(a) if (!parsed.success) { throw new FileSystemError(`Invalid arguments for ${name}`, 'INVALID_ARGS', undefined, { errors: parsed.error.format(), }) } const validPath = await validatePath(parsed.data.path, config) const patternLower = parsed.data.pattern.toLowerCase() const results: string[] = [] async function search(currentPath: string) { try { const entries = await fs.readdir(currentPath, { withFileTypes: true }) for (const entry of entries) { const fullPath = path.join(currentPath, entry.name) try { await validatePath(fullPath, config) const relativePath = path.relative(validPath, fullPath) // Check if the path should be excluded const shouldExclude = parsed.data && parsed.data.excludePatterns.some((excludePattern) => { const globPattern = excludePattern.includes('*') ? excludePattern : `**/${excludePattern}**` return minimatch(relativePath, globPattern, { nocase: true }) }) if (shouldExclude) { continue } // Check if the name matches the search pattern if (entry.name.toLowerCase().includes(patternLower)) { results.push(fullPath) } // Recursively search subdirectories if (entry.isDirectory()) { await search(fullPath) } } catch (error) { // Skip paths we can't access or validate continue } } } catch (error) { // Skip directories we can't read return } } await search(validPath) await logger.debug(`Search complete: ${parsed.data.pattern}`, { resultCount: results.length, }) endMetric() return { content: [ { type: 'text', text: results.length > 0 ? `Found ${results.length} matches:\n${results.join('\n')}` : 'No matches found', }, ], } } - src/index.ts:133-141 (schema)Zod schema defining the input parameters for the search_files tool: required path (root to search from), pattern (string to match in names), and optional excludePatterns array.
const SearchFilesArgsSchema = z.object({ path: z.string().describe('Root path to start searching from'), pattern: z.string().describe('Pattern to match against filenames and directories'), excludePatterns: z .array(z.string()) .optional() .default([]) .describe('Patterns to exclude from search results'), }) - src/index.ts:306-315 (registration)Registers the search_files tool in the ListTools response, providing name, detailed description, and inputSchema converted from SearchFilesArgsSchema.
{ name: 'search_files', description: 'Recursively search for files and directories matching a pattern. ' + 'Searches through all subdirectories from the starting path. The search ' + 'is case-insensitive and matches partial names. Returns full paths to all ' + "matching items. Great for finding files when you don't know their exact location. " + 'Only searches within allowed directories.', inputSchema: zodToJsonSchema(SearchFilesArgsSchema) as ToolInput, },