I am trying to delete remnants from an app with file names that contain the string com.XYZ but I cannot locate these files using the Find button on the Finder window or Spotlight. As a test I searched for "com.apple.LaunchServices", which I know is in ~/Library/Preferences but I do not get any hits at all. How do I search the entire hard disk for all files or folders whose names contain a particular string?
iMac 27″, macOS 12.5
To answer my own question: in the terminal type
find . -name "*com.xyz*" -print
Terminal.app must have Full Disk Access in System Preferences/Security and Privacy. The command takes some time to run, be patient until the terminal prompt appears.
Your find example will only search in the current (.) directory, and that won't find all remnants of a file that took a more widespread approach to installation.
I would do this in the Terminal:
pkgutil --pkgs | grep -i xyz | more
If that returns a package with the name string com.XYZ in it, enter the entire package name below:
pkgutil --files com.XYZ > ~/Desktop/XYZ_files.txt
and you will have a text file on your Desktop with the specific file path to every file installed.
I have used Find Any File in the past. Does it still work in OS 12? Last update is for 10.11 or later.
Yes, version 2.3.2 works up through Monterey/12.
Search the entire HD for filenames that contain a particular string