For a large number of ZIP files, -exec spawns one unzip process per file. xargs batches multiple filenames together, reducing overhead:
-type f : Restricts the search results exclusively to regular files. unzip all files in subfolders linux
If you want to pull all files out of their various subfolders and extract them all into your : find . -name "*.zip" -exec unzip {} \; Use code with caution. Copied to clipboard For a large number of ZIP files, -exec
| Method | Speed (1000 small ZIPs) | Memory | Safety with spaces | |--------|------------------------|--------|--------------------| | find -exec | 45 sec | low | ✅ (with quotes) | | find | xargs -n1 | 42 sec | low | ✅ (with -0) | | find | while read | 48 sec | moderate | ✅ (with -d '') | | parallel -j4 | 14 sec | moderate | ✅ | -name "*
with echo rm to avoid accidental data loss.