Compare software

bfs vs GNU findutils: catalog facts
bfs	GNU findutils
Best for: Terminal users who rely on find and want nearby results first	Best for: Searching for files and acting on them from a Unix shell
Free Free and open source.	Free Free software from the GNU Project.
macOS, Linux, Command line	Linux, Command line
Breadth-first order finds shallow matches first Drop-in compatible with GNU, BSD, macOS and POSIX find All 3 strengths for bfs Breadth-first order finds shallow matches first Drop-in compatible with GNU, BSD, macOS and POSIX find Existing find syntax works unchanged	Powerful file matching by name, type, size, time and more locate gives very fast lookups from a file name database All 3 strengths for GNU findutils Powerful file matching by name, type, size, time and more locate gives very fast lookups from a file name database xargs runs commands over large lists of files
Keeps find's syntax, which some users find awkward No native Windows support mentioned	locate results are only as current as the last updatedb run Option syntax is dense and takes time to learn
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-3.0-or-later
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for bfs github.com/tavianator/bfs Catalog checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for GNU findutils gnu.org/software/findutils Catalog checked October 1, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.