Find Command Exclude Directories From Search Pattern

How do I exclude certain directories while using the find command under UNIX or Linux operating systems?

You can use the find command as follows to find all directories except tmp directory:

find /path/to/dest -type d \( ! -name tmp \) -print

Find all directories except tmp and cache:

find /path/to/dest -type d \( ! -name tmp \) -o \( ! -name cache \) -print

The -prune option make sure that you do not descend into directory:

find /path/to/dest -type d \( ! -name tmp \) -o \( ! -name cache -prune \) -print

You can find all *.pl find except in tmp and root directory, enter:

find /  \( ! -name tmp \) -o \( ! -name root -prune \)  -name "*.pl" -print