This EX200 practice question tests your understanding of essential tools. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A developer needs to search for the string 'ERROR' in all files under /var/log, but wants to exclude files ending with '.gz'. Which command is correct?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "which command"
Why it matters: Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
grep -r --exclude='*.gz' 'ERROR' /var/log
Correctly excludes .gz files.
grep -R --exclude='*.gz' 'ERROR' /var/log
Why wrong: -R is not standard; use -r.
grep -l 'ERROR' /var/log/*.gz
Why wrong: Only searches .gz files.
grep -v '*.gz' -r 'ERROR' /var/log
Why wrong: -v is for inverted match, not exclude.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
grep -r --exclude='*.gz' 'ERROR' /var/log
Option A is correct because `grep -r` performs a recursive search through all files under /var/log, and the `--exclude='*.gz'` option tells grep to skip any files matching the glob pattern '*.gz'. This combination ensures that only non-compressed log files are searched for the string 'ERROR', meeting the requirement exactly.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
grep -r --exclude='*.gz' 'ERROR' /var/log
Why this is correct
Correctly excludes .gz files.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "which command" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
grep -R --exclude='*.gz' 'ERROR' /var/log
Why it's wrong here
-R is not standard; use -r.
grep -l 'ERROR' /var/log/*.gz
Why it's wrong here
Only searches .gz files.
grep -v '*.gz' -r 'ERROR' /var/log
Why it's wrong here
-v is for inverted match, not exclude.
Common exam traps
Red Hat often tests the distinction between `--exclude` (which filters files by name) and `-v` (which inverts line matches), leading candidates to mistakenly use `-v` with a glob pattern to try to exclude files.
Detailed technical explanation
The `--exclude` option in grep uses shell-style glob patterns (not regular expressions) to skip files during recursive searches, which is efficient because grep internally checks the filename against the glob before opening the file. In real-world scenarios, administrators often combine `--exclude` with `--include` to fine-tune searches across large log directories, and note that `--exclude` can be specified multiple times to skip multiple patterns (e.g., `--exclude='*.gz' --exclude='*.bz2'`).
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
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FAQ
Essential Tools — This question tests Essential Tools — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: grep -r --exclude='*.gz' 'ERROR' /var/log — Option A is correct because `grep -r` performs a recursive search through all files under /var/log, and the `--exclude='*.gz'` option tells grep to skip any files matching the glob pattern '*.gz'. This combination ensures that only non-compressed log files are searched for the string 'ERROR', meeting the requirement exactly.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "which command". Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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