ripgrep

ripgrep (rg)

Fast recursive search tool that searches files line-by-line for patterns.

Basic Usage

rg <pattern> [path]        # Recursive search (default)
rg -F <literal> [path]     # Fixed string (no regex)
rg 'pattern' -g '*.rs'     # With glob filter

Key Features

Automatic Filtering (Default)

• Ignores .gitignore, .ignore, .rgignore patterns
• Skips hidden files/directories
• Skips binary files (files with NUL bytes)
• Doesn't follow symlinks

Override with:

--no-ignore          # Disable ignore filtering
--hidden -u          # Show hidden files (-u = --unrestricted)
-a --text            # Search binary files
-L --follow          # Follow symlinks
-uuu                 # Disable all filtering (3x unrestricted)

Manual Filtering: Globs

rg pattern -g '*.toml'           # Only .toml files
rg pattern -g '!*.toml'           # Exclude .toml files
rg pattern -g '*.rs' -g '!test*' # Combine filters

File Types

rg pattern --type rust           # -t<type> shorthand
rg pattern --type-not rust       # -T<type> exclude type
rg pattern --type-list            # List available types
rg --type-add 'web:*.{html,css,js}' -tweb pattern  # Custom type

Replacements

rg fast README.md --replace FAST           # -r shorthand
rg '^.*fast.*$' README.md -r FAST        # Replace entire line
rg 'fast\s+(\w+)' -r 'fast-$1'           # Capture groups

Configuration

Set RIPGREP_CONFIG_PATH env var. Each line is a flag:

--max-columns=150
--hidden
--smart-case

Common Options

Flag	Description
-i --ignore-case	Case insensitive search
-S --smart-case	Case insensitive unless pattern has uppercase
-w --word-regexp	Match whole words only
-c --count	Count matching lines
-C --context N	Show N lines around match
-U --multiline	Allow multiline matches
-M --max-columns N	Truncate long lines
-z --search-zip	Search compressed files
-l --files-with-matches	Print only filenames
-o --only-matching	Show only match, not full line
--debug	Show debug info (why files ignored, config loaded)

Preprocessor (Search Binary/Non-text)

# Create preprocessor script
cat preprocess
#!/bin/sh
exec pdftotext - -

# Use it
rg --pre ./preprocess 'pattern' file.pdf
rg --pre ./preprocess --pre-glob '*.pdf' 'pattern' .