ripgrep

https://ripgrep.dev/docs/
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ripgrep is a fast, recursive line-oriented search tool that respects your .gitignore and searches...
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### Verify ripgrep installation

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

After installation, run this command to verify that ripgrep is installed and check its version.

```bash
rg --version
# ripgrep 15.1.0 (rev b4cfbdf2af) +SIMD +AVX (compiled)
```

--------------------------------

### Install ripgrep with Winget

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Use this command to install ripgrep on Windows using the Winget package manager.

```powershell
winget install BurntSushi.ripgrep.MSVC
```

--------------------------------

### Unicode character matching

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/regex

Examples of using Unicode properties and disabling Unicode mode for performance.

```bash
# \p{L} — any Unicode letter
rg '\p{L}+'

# \p{Han} — CJK Han characters
rg '\p{Han}'

# \p{Ll} — lowercase letters
rg '\p{Ll}{3,}'

# \p{N} — numeric characters (includes Arabic-Indic digits, etc.)
rg '\p{N}+'

# Disable Unicode for ASCII-only matching (faster on ASCII corpora)
rg '(?-u)\w+'
```

--------------------------------

### Install ripgrep on Ubuntu/Debian

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Use this command to install ripgrep on Ubuntu or Debian-based systems using apt.

```bash
sudo apt install ripgrep
```

--------------------------------

### Install ripgrep with Cargo

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Use this command to install ripgrep on any platform using Cargo, the Rust package manager.

```bash
cargo install ripgrep
```

--------------------------------

### Install ripgrep with Homebrew

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Use this command to install ripgrep on macOS using the Homebrew package manager.

```bash
brew install ripgrep
```

--------------------------------

### Quiet search with exit code

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Perform a quiet search for 'pattern'. The exit code will be 0 if a match is found, and 1 otherwise. This example demonstrates checking the exit code.

```bash
rg -q 'pattern' && echo "Found it!"
```

--------------------------------

### Search hidden files and directories with ripgrep

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/faq

Use the `-.` flag to include files and directories that start with a dot. This is useful for searching configuration files or hidden directories.

```bash
rg -. 'SECRET' .
```

--------------------------------

### PCRE2-only regex features

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/regex

Examples of advanced regex features like look-arounds and backreferences that require the PCRE2 engine.

```bash
# Look-ahead: match "foo" only when followed by "bar"
rg -P 'foo(?=bar)'

# Negative look-ahead: match "foo" NOT followed by "bar"
rg -P 'foo(?!bar)'

# Look-behind: match "bar" only preceded by "foo"
rg -P '(?<=foo)bar'

# Negative look-behind
rg -P '(?<!foo)bar'

# Backreference: find repeated word
rg -P '(\b\w+\b) \1'

# Named capture group
rg -P '(?P<year>\d{4})-(?P<month>\d{2})-(?P<day>\d{2})'
```

--------------------------------

### Search only specific file types with ripgrep

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/faq

Use the `-t` flag to include a specific file type or `-T` to exclude it. Run `rg --type-list` to see all supported types. This example searches only Python files.

```bash
rg -t py 'def '
```

--------------------------------

### Replace output with ripgrep and pipe to sed

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/faq

Ripgrep's `-r` flag only affects printed output. To modify files, pipe the output to tools like `sed`. This example replaces 'old' with 'new' in files found by ripgrep.

```bash
rg -l 'old' | xargs sed -i 's/old/new/g'
```

--------------------------------

### Search with context lines

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Search for the pattern 'panic' and display 2 lines before and 2 lines after each match.

```bash
rg -C 2 'panic'
```

--------------------------------

### Search with lines after match

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Search for the pattern 'fn main' and display 3 lines following each match.

```bash
rg -A 3 'fn main'
```

--------------------------------

### Search Binary Files as Text

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/guide

Use `-a` or `--text` to treat all files as text, overriding the default behavior of skipping binary files.

```bash
# Treat binary files as text
rg -a 'pattern'
```

```bash
# Explicitly search a binary file
rg -a 'pattern' binary-file.bin
```

--------------------------------

### Preprocess Files Before Searching

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/guide

Use `--pre` to specify a command that processes files before searching. The command's stdout is searched.

```bash
# Search PDFs (requires pdftotext from poppler)
rg --pre pdftotext 'keyword' docs/
```

```bash
# Search Word documents (requires docx2txt)
rg --pre docx2txt 'pattern' documents/
```

```bash
# Only preprocess specific file types
rg --pre pdftotext --pre-glob '*.pdf' 'keyword' .
```

--------------------------------

### Search Compressed Files

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/guide

Use `-z` or `--search-zip` to decompress and search supported archive formats on the fly.

```bash
# Search inside .gz log files
rg -z 'ERROR' /var/log/app.log.gz
```

```bash
# Search all compressed logs in a directory
rg -z 'WARN' /var/log/nginx/
```

```bash
# Combine with type filter
rg -z 'pattern' -g '*.gz'
```

--------------------------------

### List all built-in file types

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Display a list of all file types that ripgrep recognizes.

```bash
rg --type-list
```

--------------------------------

### JSON output for scripting

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Output search results for 'pattern' in JSON format, suitable for programmatic processing.

```bash
rg --json 'pattern'
```

--------------------------------

### Common regex patterns

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/regex

A collection of useful regex patterns for common tasks like matching emails, URLs, and code structures.

```bash
# Email address (simplified)
rg '[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}'

# URL
rg 'https?://[^\s"<>]+'

# IPv4 address
rg '\b\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\b'

# Hex color
rg '#[0-9a-fA-F]{3,6}\b'

# ISO 8601 date
rg '\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}'

# Version number (semver)
rg '\bv?\d+\.\d+\.\d+\b'

# TODO/FIXME comment
rg '(TODO|FIXME|HACK|XXX):'

# Function definition (Rust)
rg 'pub fn \w+'

# Import statement (Python)
rg '^(import|from) \w'

# JSON key-value (approximate)
rg '"[^"]+": "[^"]*"'
```

--------------------------------

### Specify ripgrep Configuration File Explicitly

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/guide

Point to a configuration file using the RIPGREP_CONFIG_PATH environment variable. This allows for custom configurations to be loaded.

```bash
RIPGREP_CONFIG_PATH=~/.ripgreprc rg 'pattern'
```

```bash
export RIPGREP_CONFIG_PATH="$HOME/.ripgreprc"
```

--------------------------------

### Ripgrep Configuration File

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/guide

Set default flags using a configuration file specified by `RIPGREP_CONFIG_PATH` or located at `~/.ripgreprc` (Unix) or `%APPDATA%\ripgrep\config` (Windows).

```bash
# Always use smart-case (case-insensitive unless pattern has uppercase)
--smart-case
```

```bash
# Always search hidden files
--hidden
```

```bash
# Always show line numbers (rg already does this in terminals, but useful for pipes)
--line-number
```

```bash
# Set a custom colors
--colors=match:fg:yellow
```

--------------------------------

### Search for multiple patterns

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Search for lines that match any of the specified patterns: 'TODO', 'FIXME', or 'HACK'.

```bash
rg -e 'TODO' -e 'FIXME' -e 'HACK'
```

--------------------------------

### Search with multiple glob patterns

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Search for 'import' in '*.ts' files but exclude '*.test.ts' files.

```bash
rg 'import' -g '*.ts' -g '!*.test.ts'
```

--------------------------------

### List only file names

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

List only the names of files containing the pattern 'TODO', without showing line content.

```bash
rg -l 'TODO'
```

--------------------------------

### Control Search Depth and Symlinks

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/guide

Use `--no-follow` to prevent following symbolic links and `--max-depth` to limit the recursion depth.

```bash
# Only search 2 levels deep
rg 'pattern' --max-depth 2
```

--------------------------------

### Filtering by File Type

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/guide

Use `-t` to include and `-T` to exclude file types. Use `--type-list` to see built-in types. Custom types can be added with `--type-add`.

```bash
# Show all built-in file types
rg --type-list
```

```bash
# Only Python files
rg 'def ' -t py
```

```bash
# Only Rust files, excluding tests
rg 'unsafe' -t rust -T test
```

```bash
# Define a custom type and use it
rg --type-add 'web:*.{html,css,js,ts}' -t web 'className'
```

--------------------------------

### Manual Filtering with Globs

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/guide

Use `-g` or `--glob` to include or exclude files by glob pattern. Prefix with `!` to negate.

```bash
# Only search .ts files
rg 'interface' -g '*.ts'
```

```bash
# Exclude test files
rg 'TODO' -g '!*.test.*'
```

```bash
# Multiple globs
rg 'import' -g '*.ts' -g '!*.d.ts'
```

```bash
# Exclude a directory
rg 'console.log' -g '!dist/**'
```

--------------------------------

### Basic search for 'TODO'

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Perform a basic search for the pattern 'TODO' in the current directory. ripgrep respects .gitignore and skips hidden files by default.

```bash
rg 'TODO'
```

--------------------------------

### Search JavaScript and TypeScript files

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Search for 'console.log' only in JavaScript ('-t js') and TypeScript ('-t ts') files.

```bash
rg 'console.log' -t js -t ts
```

--------------------------------

### Enable multiline matching in ripgrep

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/faq

Use the `-U` flag for multiline matching where `.` matches newlines and `^`/`$` match the start/end of each line. Use `--multiline-dotall` to make `.` match newlines even without `-U`.

```bash
rg -U '^start
.*end$' file.txt
```

--------------------------------

### Search specific file glob pattern

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Search for 'export' only within files matching the glob pattern '*.config.ts'.

```bash
rg 'export' --glob '*.config.ts'
```

--------------------------------

### List files ripgrep will search

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/faq

Use `rg --files` to see a list of all files that ripgrep would search. This helps in understanding why certain files might be excluded.

```bash
rg --files
```

--------------------------------

### Ignore .gitignore rules

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Perform a search for 'pattern' while ignoring all rules defined in .gitignore and other ignore files.

```bash
rg --no-ignore 'pattern'
```

--------------------------------

### Text Replacements with Ripgrep

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/guide

Use `-r` or `--replace` to substitute matches in output. Supports capture groups `$1`, `$2`, and named groups `$name`.

```bash
# Replace matches in output
rg 'fn (w+)' -r 'function $1'
```

```bash
# Swap date format YYYY-MM-DD → DD/MM/YYYY
rg '(d{4})-(d{2})-(d{2})' -r '$3/$2/$1'
```

```bash
# Named capture groups
rg '(?P<last>w+), (?P<first>w+)' -r '$first $last'
```

```bash
# To actually write changes to files, pipe through sed or use sd:
rg --passthru 'old_name' -r 'new_name' src/main.rs | sponge src/main.rs
```

--------------------------------

### Globally Ignore Directories with ripgrep

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/guide

Use the --glob flag to specify directories to ignore globally. This is useful for excluding common directories like .git, node_modules, or virtual environments.

```bash
--glob=!.git/
--glob=!node_modules/
--glob=!.venv/
```

--------------------------------

### Exclude directory using glob

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Search for 'TODO' but exclude all files within the 'node_modules' directory using a glob pattern.

```bash
rg 'TODO' --glob '!node_modules/**'
```

--------------------------------

### Show line numbers explicitly

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Explicitly show line numbers for each match of 'pattern'. This is often the default behavior when outputting to a terminal.

```bash
rg -n 'pattern'
```

--------------------------------

### Include hidden files

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Include hidden files and directories (like '.env', '.github/') in the search results for 'SECRET'.

```bash
rg -. 'SECRET'
```

--------------------------------

### Recursive Search with Ripgrep

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/guide

Specify search patterns and target directories or files. Supports searching standard input.

```bash
# Search current directory
rg 'pattern'
```

```bash
# Search a specific directory
rg 'pattern' src/
```

```bash
# Search specific files
rg 'pattern' src/main.rs src/lib.rs
```

```bash
# Search stdin
echo "hello world" | rg 'hello'
```

--------------------------------

### Hybrid regex engine mode

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/regex

Automatically switch to PCRE2 when the pattern requires features not supported by the default engine.

```bash
rg --auto-hybrid-regex '(?<=def )\w+'
```

--------------------------------

### Search inside compressed files with ripgrep

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/faq

Use the `-z` flag to search within compressed files like gzip, bzip2, xz, and others. Ripgrep decompresses them on-the-fly before searching.

```bash
rg -z 'pattern' file.gz
```

--------------------------------

### Invert match (show non-matching lines)

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Display lines that do NOT contain the pattern 'test'.

```bash
rg -v 'test'
```

--------------------------------

### Search only Rust files

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Restrict the search to Rust files by specifying the file type with '-t rust'.

```bash
rg 'fn main' -t rust
```

--------------------------------

### Search non-UTF-8 files with ripgrep

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/faq

Use the `-E` flag followed by the encoding name to search files with different encodings. UTF-16 is auto-detected via BOM.

```bash
rg -E gbk 'pattern' file.txt
```

--------------------------------

### Count matches per file

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Count the number of occurrences of the pattern 'import' in each file.

```bash
rg -c 'import'
```

--------------------------------

### Enable PCRE2 regex engine in ripgrep

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/faq

Switch to the PCRE2 regex engine using the `-P` flag to enable advanced features like look-arounds and backreferences. The default Rust regex engine does not support these.

```bash
rg -P '(?=.*)pattern'
```

--------------------------------

### Disable Ripgrep Filtering

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/guide

Selectively disable ignore rules or search all files. Use `-uu` to disable all filtering.

```bash
# Include hidden files and directories
rg -. 'pattern'
```

```bash
# Do not respect .gitignore (but still skip hidden/binary)
rg --no-ignore 'pattern'
```

```bash
# Disable ALL filtering (search truly everything)
rg -uu 'pattern'
```

```bash
# Show which files would be searched without actually searching
rg --files
```

--------------------------------

### Force ripgrep to treat files as text

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/faq

Use the `-a` flag to force ripgrep to treat binary files as text. This is useful for log files that might contain unusual bytes but are intended to be searched as text.

```bash
rg -a 'pattern' binary_file.log
```

--------------------------------

### Specify File Encoding

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/guide

Use `-E` or `--encoding` to force a specific file encoding. Ripgrep defaults to UTF-8 and auto-detects UTF-16.

```bash
# Force Latin-1 (ISO-8859-1) encoding
rg -E latin-1 'pattern' legacy.txt
```

```bash
# Force Shift-JIS (Japanese)
rg -E shift-jis 'パターン' file.txt
```

--------------------------------

### Case-insensitive search

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Perform a case-insensitive search for the pattern 'error'.

```bash
rg -i 'error'
```

--------------------------------

### Search only Python files

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Restrict the search to Python files by specifying the file type with '-t py'.

```bash
rg 'def ' -t py
```

--------------------------------

### Match whole words only

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/getting-started

Search for the exact word 'error', avoiding matches within larger words like 'errors' or 'errored'.

```bash
rg -w 'error'
```

--------------------------------

### Disable all filtering in ripgrep

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/faq

Use `rg -uu` to disable all automatic filtering, including `.gitignore` and hidden files. This is useful for troubleshooting when a file isn't found.

```bash
rg -uu 'pattern'
```

--------------------------------

### Force colors in ripgrep output

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/faq

Use `--color always` to force ripgrep to output colors even when piping the output to another command or redirecting to a file. This ensures color codes are included.

```bash
rg --color always 'pattern'
```

--------------------------------

### Search with backslashes in Windows paths

Source: https://ripgrep.dev/docs/faq

On Windows, ripgrep accepts both forward slashes and backslashes in paths. When using PowerShell, ensure patterns are enclosed in single quotes or backslashes are escaped.

```powershell
rg 'pattern' "C:\Users\name\project"
```
Tokens:
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