Get the most recent file path (newest, last modified file) from a list of directories specified by user

most_recent_file.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# Define an array of directories to search
dirs=("/Users/dan/Downloads" "/Users/dan/Desktop" "/Users/dan/Documents")

# Define an empty array to store the recent files
recent_files=()

# Define a variable to store the highest timestamp
highscore=0

# Define a function to find the most recent file in a directory
find_most_recent() {
  # Get the directory to search
  dir=$1

  # Find the most recent file in the directory
  mrf=$(ls -t $dir | head -1)

  # Get the timestamp of the most recent file
  timestamp=$(stat -f "%m" "$dir/${mrf}")

  # Add the directory, file, and timestamp to the array of recent files
  recent_files[${#recent_files[@]}]="${dir} ${mrf} ${timestamp}"
}

# Iterate over the directories and find the most recent file in each one
for dir in "${dirs[@]}"; do
  find_most_recent "$dir"
done

# Find the file with the highest timestamp
for recent_file in "${recent_files[@]}"; do
  # Get the timestamp of the current file
  num=$(awk '{print $3}' <<< "$recent_file")

  # Update the highscore if the current file has a higher timestamp
  if [[ $num -gt $highscore ]]; then
    highscore=$num
  fi
done

# Find the file with the highest timestamp and copy its path to the clipboard
for recent_file in "${recent_files[@]}"; do
  if [[ "$recent_file" =~ $highscore ]]; then
    # Get the path of the file with the highest timestamp
    path=$(awk '{print $1"/"$2}' <<< "$recent_file")
    
    if [ "$1" == "-e" ]; then
        #If -e flag specified echo it out 
        echo "$path" | tr -d '\n' 
    else
        # Copy the path to the clipboard
        echo "$path" | tr -d '\n' | pbcopy
    fi
  fi
done