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rg 'warn|error' logs/Notes
Alternation is often the fastest way to combine related searches into one pass.
Regex and Fixed Strings
Use basic regex, PCRE2, word boundaries, alternation, and literal searches with ripgrep.
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Regex basics
Common regex patterns that appear in real code and logs.
Match whole words only
Avoid partial matches inside larger identifiers.
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rg '\bselect\b' docs/Notes
Word boundaries are essential when searching SQL, config keys, or language keywords.
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rg '\b\d{3}\b' .Notes
Handy for HTTP status codes, IDs, and validation rules.
Use capture groups in patterns
Group pieces of a regex for readability or PCRE2 replacements.
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rg '(GET|POST|PUT|DELETE) /api/' server.logNotes
Even when not replacing, capture groups make complex patterns easier to reason about.
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rg -v '^#' .env.exampleNotes
Great for removing comments or blank-line noise in quick inspections.
Literal and escaped searches
Search literal text when regex behavior would be inconvenient or misleading.
Search as a plain literal string
Disable regex parsing and match the text exactly.
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rg -F 'user.name' .Notes
Use `-F` when searching strings that contain dots, brackets, or other regex metacharacters.
Match several literal patterns
Provide multiple literal patterns in one command.
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rg -F -e 'panic!' -e 'unwrap()' src/Notes
Useful for audits where you want one combined pass over the repository.
Escape regex metacharacters
Search for a literal dot while staying in regex mode.
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rg 'config\.json' .Notes
This is handy when you want regex power overall but still need to match punctuation literally.
Search a literal pattern with PCRE2 multiline support
Match text spanning lines using a more powerful regex engine.
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rg -Pzo 'BEGIN.*?END' notes.txtNotes
Use PCRE2 plus multiline/null-data modes when the default engine's line-oriented behavior is too strict.
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rg -F -f patterns.txt src/Notes
Great for deny lists, migration checklists, or curated audit terms.
PCRE2 features
Enable features beyond ripgrep's default regex engine when needed.
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rg -P '(?<=Authorization: )Bearer\s+\S+' headers.txtNotes
PCRE2 is especially useful for look-behind, backreferences, and some complex matching scenarios.
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rg -P '\b(\w+)\s+\1\b' notes.txtNotes
Backreferences are not supported by the default regex engine, so `-P` is required.
Use look-ahead assertions
Match only when text is followed by another fragment.
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rg -P 'token(?==)' .envNotes
Look-ahead helps when you want to match a token without consuming surrounding syntax.
Use Unicode-aware classes
Search for letters with Unicode-aware semantics.
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rg '\p{L}+' docs/Notes
Useful for multilingual repos and documentation sets.
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rg -U 'foo
bar' sample.txtNotes
`-U` disables the line-based restriction so patterns can span lines; combine with care because it can increase work and output size.
More in ripgrep
Real-World Code Search Recipes
High-value ripgrep recipes for refactors, security scans, framework audits, logs, and docs.
Performance, Debugging, and Multiline Search
Understand ripgrep defaults, debug missing results, and use PCRE2 or multiline search when required.
Config and Shell Integration
Persist preferred flags, create custom types, and combine ripgrep with fd, fzf, git, and editors.
Replace, Preprocess, and Encodings
Preview replacements, search transformed files, and handle compressed or non-UTF8 data.
Output, Context, and Reporting
Control headings, context lines, counts, paths, columns, and machine-readable output.
Globs, Types, and Ignore Rules
Control what ripgrep searches with globs, type filters, hidden files, and ignore behavior.