ripgrep

ripgrep adds a new item to the category of search tools, delivering a console-based application that can recursively search for files based on a regular expression pattern. Using regex, it can look for files and folders inside a directory and retrieve matching results in the command window.

The two indispensable arguments of ripgrep are the regular expression pattern to use and the target file or folder to search. The default configuration of ripgrep is to automatically skip hidden content or binary files and respect the rules for .gitignore.

However, there are options that allow you to modify the default behavior of ripgrep. It is advisable to run ripgrep with the “-help” command, which can explain each and every available option, so that you can use the application to its fullest.

There are additional search and filtering options that can narrow down the search results. For instance, you can configure ripgrep to return case-sensitive results and use other extra criteria, such as the text encoding mode, the file size or type.

Additional files can be ignored if specified as arguments and gitignore rules can be used outside of git repositories. You can also configure ripgrep to follow symbolic links and reduce the level of “smart” filtering.

You also get to control the way the output is displayed. ripgrep can reveal the line number before or after each match, force block buffering, and display the search results in user-defined colors and styles.

It is possible to set the separators to be used, show or hide line numbers, and customize colors, headings and the way results are shown.

As its name suggests, ripgrep is sort of a Windows counterpart to the grep tool on Linux. You might tell yourself that all it does is search for regex matches in a folder. However, if you are familiar with regular expressions and are comfortable using the Windows console, then an application such as ripgrep can be of service.