bashANYgrepsearch
bash
grep ERROR app.logThe simplest grep usage searches for matching lines.
Linux grep and ripgrep Cheat Sheet
Search text with grep, egrep, fgrep, and ripgrep including regex, file globs, recursion, and context.
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Basic grep
Match lines and patterns in files and streams.
bashANYgrepcase-insensitive
bash
grep -i timeout app.logUseful when log or text casing is inconsistent.
bashANYgrepline-number
bash
grep -n TODO src/app.jsLine numbers make it easier to jump directly to a match.
bashANYgrepcount
bash
grep -c ERROR app.logGood for quick metrics and health checks in scripts.
bashANYgrepinvert
bash
grep -v '^#' .envCommonly used to skip comment lines or blank lines after combining with another expression.
bashANYgrepword-match
bash
grep -w user auth.log`-w` prevents matching terms that only appear inside larger strings.
Regex with grep
Use regular expressions for more powerful matches.
bashANYgrepregexextended
bash
grep -E 'warn|error|fatal' app.logEquivalent to traditional `egrep`.
bashANYgrepliteralfixed-string
bash
grep -F 'a+b*c' notes.txtEquivalent to traditional `fgrep` and useful when searching for symbols literally.
bashANYgrepregexanchors
bash
grep '^ERROR.*timeout$' app.logAnchors let you constrain a match to the full line shape.
bashANYgrepblank-lines
bash
grep -n '^$' file.txtHelpful for validating formatting or splitting sections.
bashANYgrepwhitespace
bash
grep -n '[^[:space:]]' file.txtUseful when skipping whitespace-only lines.
Recursive Search
Search across directories and source trees.
bashANYgreprecursive
bash
grep -R 'TODO' src/Recursive search is a common way to scan a codebase.
bashANYgreprecursiveline-number
bash
grep -Rn 'TODO' src/One of the most useful codebase-search commands.
bashANYgrepincluderecursive
bash
grep -R --include='*.ts' 'useEffect' src/Helpful for codebases containing mixed file types.
bashANYgrepexcluderecursive
bash
grep -R --exclude-dir=node_modules 'axios' .Excluding generated or vendored folders makes searches much faster.
bashANYgrepfiles
bash
grep -Rl 'TODO' src/Useful when you only care which files match, not the lines themselves.
Context Around Matches
Show surrounding lines to understand matches better.
bashANYgrepcontext
bash
grep -B 3 ERROR app.logBefore-context is useful when logs explain the lead-up to an error.
bashANYgrepcontext
bash
grep -A 5 ERROR app.logAfter-context often shows stack traces or follow-up log lines.
bashANYgrepcontext
bash
grep -C 2 ERROR app.log`-C` gives balanced context and is often the most convenient option.
ripgrep (rg)
Fast recursive search for code and text.
bashANYrgripgrepsearch
bash
rg TODO src/ripgrep respects common ignore files and is usually faster than recursive grep for code.
bashANYrgline-number
bash
rg -n 'useState' src/Line numbers are included by default in many rg outputs, but `-n` makes it explicit.
bashANYrgglob
bash
rg -g '*.ts' 'useEffect' src/Globs help narrow large code searches to relevant files.
bashANYrgliteral
bash
rg -F 'http://localhost:3000' .Useful for URLs or strings containing regex metacharacters.
bashANYrgfiles
bash
rg -l 'TODO|FIXME' src/Great when triaging or collecting files to edit.
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