A skill your agent uses when searching for files by name, pattern, or type in large directories, or building file lists for pipelines with other tools

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedDevelopment

Install Finding Files

skills CLI
$ npx skills add SebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions --skill finding-files -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install SebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions finding-files --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/SebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/minimal-context-tools/skills/finding-files .claude/skills/finding-files && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
finding-files
GitHub stars
198
Token cost
~856 tokens
SKILL.md length
342 words
Files
2
Skills in repo
19
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

A skill your agent uses when searching for files by name, pattern, or type in large directories, or building file lists for pipelines with other tools

  • Searching for files by name
  • SKILL.md covers Default Strategy, Key Options, When to Use and Core Principle, plus 2 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
  • Type in large directories

What it does

Finding Files is an agent skill from SebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions. Use when searching for files by name, pattern, or type in large directories, or building file lists for pipelines with other tools

Its SKILL.md is about 860 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files (for example `reference/fd-guide.md`).

It sits in Development. The repository describes itself as: A comprehensive codebase of best practices, coding rules, and workflow automation for AI-assisted development with GitHub Copilot. Includes DDD, Clean Architecture, testing… The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Searching for files by name
  • Type in large directories
  • Building file lists for pipelines with other tools

Example prompts

  • “/finding-files”

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 0f0dccf. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are bash).

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Finding Files loads about 856 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 36 tokens; SKILL.md has 342 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~36
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~856

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from SebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions at commit 0f0dccf, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© SebastienDegodez). 342 words, ~856 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/finding-files/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
finding-files
description
Use when searching for files by name, pattern, or type in large directories, or building file lists for pipelines with other tools

Always invoke finding-files skill for fast file discovery - do not execute bash commands directly.

Use fd for fast file discovery that's 13-23x faster than find.

Default Strategy

Invoke finding-files skill for fast file discovery with parallel search and smart defaults. Use when searching for files by name, pattern, or type, especially when performance matters or when working with large directories.

Common workflow: finding-files skill → other skills (fuzzy-selecting, viewing-files, searching-text, replacing-text) for further processing.

Key Options

  • -e ext for extension filtering
  • -t file|dir for type filtering
  • -H include hidden files
  • -I ignore .gitignore
  • --exclude pattern exclusions
  • -x exec per file, -X exec batch
  • {}, {.}, {/} placeholders

When to Use

  • Quick file searches by pattern
  • Filter by type, size, extension
  • Search with depth limits
  • Batch file operations
  • Integration with other tools
Common Workflows
  • finding-files → fuzzy-selecting → viewing-files: Search files, select interactively, view with syntax highlighting
  • finding-files → replacing-text: Find files and perform batch replacements
  • finding-files → xargs tool: Execute commands on found files
  • finding-files → searching-text: Search within specific file types

Core Principle

Smart defaults: ignores hidden/.gitignore files, case-insensitive, parallel search - much faster than find.

Detailed Reference

For comprehensive search patterns, filtering options, execution examples, and performance tips, load fd guide when needing:

  • Advanced filtering patterns (size, time, depth)
  • Batch execution with placeholders
  • Performance optimization techniques
  • Integration with shell scripts
  • Complex exclusion patterns

The guide includes:

  • Core search patterns and file discovery
  • Extension and type filtering techniques
  • Execution and batch operation examples
  • Performance optimization strategies
  • Integration with other tools (xargs, ripgrep)
  • Advanced filtering and exclusion patterns

Skill Combinations

For Discovery Phase
  • finding-files → fuzzy-selecting: Interactive file selection with preview
  • finding-files → searching-text: Search within specific file types
  • finding-files → querying-json/querying-yaml: Extract data from found config files
  • finding-files → extracting-code-structure: Get structure overview of found files
For Analysis Phase
  • finding-files → viewing-files: View found files with syntax highlighting
  • finding-files → analyzing-code: Get statistics for specific file sets
  • finding-files → querying-json/querying-yaml: Analyze configuration files in directory
For Refactoring Phase
  • finding-files → replacing-text: Perform batch replacements across found files
  • finding-files → analyzing-code-structure: Apply structural changes to specific file types
  • finding-files → xargs: Execute commands on found files
Integration Examples
bash
# Find and edit source files
fd -e py | fzf --multi --preview="bat --color=always {}" | xargs vim

# Find and replace in JavaScript files
fd -e js -x sd "oldPattern" "newPattern"

© SebastienDegodez, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file in plugins/minimal-context-tools/skills/finding-files of SebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions.

  • SKILL.md
  • reference/fd-guide.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 0f0dccf

Compare with similar skills

Finding Files next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Finding Files compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Finding Files this skillSebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions198—~856Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Vercel Composition Patternssupabase/supabase111k59 repos~726Automated safety check: PassMIT
Finishing a Development Branchobra/superpowers296k5 repos~1.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Typescript Advanced Typesrolling-scopes/rsschool-app10k25 repos~4.2kAutomated safety check: PassMPL-2.0
PR Babysitteropeninterpreter/openinterpreter69k3 repos~4.2kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Code Review ChecklistshareAI-lab/learn-claude-code78k5 repos~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Categories

Questions about Finding Files

What does Finding Files do?

A skill your agent uses when searching for files by name, pattern, or type in large directories, or building file lists for pipelines with other tools. Finding Files is an agent skill from SebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions.

When should I use Finding Files?

Finding Files fits situations like: searching for files by name; type in large directories; building file lists for pipelines with other tools.

How do I install Finding Files in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add SebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions --skill finding-files -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/minimal-context-tools/skills/finding-files in SebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions) into .claude/skills/finding-files in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Finding Files in Codex?

Run `npx skills add SebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions --skill finding-files -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/minimal-context-tools/skills/finding-files in SebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions) into .agents/skills/finding-files in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Finding Files in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add SebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions --skill finding-files -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/finding-files, .gemini/skills/finding-files, .github/skills/finding-files and .opencode/skills/finding-files in your project.

What does Finding Files need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Finding Files is instructions for the agent only.

Does Finding Files access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Finding Files safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Finding Files use?

Finding Files is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Finding Files use?

About 856 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.4k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Finding Files?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Finding Files: Vercel Composition Patterns (supabase/supabase, 111k stars), Finishing a Development Branch (obra/superpowers, 296k stars), Typescript Advanced Types (rolling-scopes/rsschool-app, 10k stars) and PR Babysitter (openinterpreter/openinterpreter, 69k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Finding Files?

SebastienDegodez (a GitHub user) maintains it in SebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions, which has 198 GitHub stars. The repository holds 19 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

Source: SebastienDegodez/copilot-instructions on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.