When redirecting the output of find to the xargs command, what option to find is useful if the filenames contain spaces?

Prof. SaraFeb 12, 2026

The correct answer is E, -print0. The core problem is that xargs splits input on whitespace by default, so a filename like "my report.txt" gets treated as two separate arguments, "my" and "report.txt," which breaks the command entirely. The -print0 option tells find to terminate each filename with a null character (ASCII 0) instead of a newline, and you pair it with xargs -0 on the receiving end so xargs knows to split on nulls rather than spaces. Think of it as a handshake: find -print0 speaks null-delimited, and xargs -0 listens null-delimited. The other options are distractors, none of them exist as real find options, so if you see -printnul or -nospace on the exam, eliminate them immediately.

Lena V.Jun 1, 2026

E is correct. The -print0 option tells find to separate filenames with a null character instead of a newline, and you pair it with xargs -0 on the receiving end so filenames containing spaces are treated as single entries and not split incorrectly.

Luis F.Jun 26, 2026

E is the right one, -print0 makes find separate filenames with null characters instead of newlines, so xargs -0 can handle spaces in filenames without choking.

Tom W.Feb 24, 2026

E is right. find -print0 outputs filenames separated by null characters instead of newlines, and you pair it with xargs -0 on the receiving end so filenames with spaces or other weird characters do not get split into separate arguments.

Samuel O.Mar 2, 2026

The option -print0 is your answer, and it pairs with xargs -0 on the receiving end, which is the part they leave out of the question and what trips people up in practice. I'd argue -printnul looks tempting because null-terminator is exactly what -print0 uses under the hood, but that's not an actual find flag so toss it.

Nina C.Jun 16, 2026

I blanked on this one for a solid minute because I kept second-guessing myself between B and E, but then I remembered that the null character is what separates filenames safely when spaces are involved, and -print0 pairs with xargs -0 to make that work, so E it is. I actually had a practice lab where I tried piping find results with spaces in the directory names and everything broke until my study buddy told me about -print0, so seeing this on the real exam felt like a gift.

Grace U.Jun 24, 2026

I have been staring at this one for a while and I keep landing on B, because "printnul" reads to me as "print null," and a null character as the delimiter is exactly what you need to separate filenames safely when spaces are involved, so xargs can tell where one name ends and the next begins.