Why using dirname in find command gives dots for each match?

Consider the following script:

#!/bin/sh
set -x
find `pwd` -name "file.ext" -exec echo $(dirname {}) \;

set -x shows how the expansion works and what the final command is. When run, it gives the following output:

++ pwd
++ dirname '{}'
+ find /home/kibab -name file.ext -exec echo . ';'

So, the first thing that is expanded is the pwd. Second is $(dirname {}). The result of those two commands is then dropped into the find command. Thus, you’re telling find to -exec echo ., so you’re seeing the expected output.

When you substitute basename for dirname, the expansion still takes places, but the results of the expansion are different:

1. pwd is expanded to the current path. In my example above, the result is /home/kibab

2. basename {} is executed. The result of this command is {}.

3. The find command is executed with the above substitutions in place. The final command executed looks like this:

   find /home/kibab -name '*.png' -exec echo '{}' ';'

Upon inspecting the above command, you’ll notice that the command now simply echo’s whatever file was found.

Perhaps you want something like this?

find `pwd` -name "file.ext" -printf "%f\n"