git-grep

GIT-GREP(1)                       Git Manual                       GIT-GREP(1)

NAME
       git-grep - Print lines matching a pattern

SYNOPSIS
       git grep [-a | --text] [-I] [--textconv] [-i | --ignore-case] [-w | --word-regexp]
                  [-v | --invert-match] [-h|-H] [--full-name]
                  [-E | --extended-regexp] [-G | --basic-regexp]
                  [-P | --perl-regexp]
                  [-F | --fixed-strings] [-n | --line-number] [--column]
                  [-l | --files-with-matches] [-L | --files-without-match]
                  [(-O | --open-files-in-pager) [<pager>]]
                  [-z | --null]
                  [ -o | --only-matching ] [-c | --count] [--all-match] [-q | --quiet]
                  [--max-depth <depth>] [--[no-]recursive]
                  [--color[=<when>] | --no-color]
                  [--break] [--heading] [-p | --show-function]
                  [-A <post-context>] [-B <pre-context>] [-C <context>]
                  [-W | --function-context]
                  [--threads <num>]
                  [-f <file>] [-e] <pattern>
                  [--and|--or|--not|(|)|-e <pattern>...]
                  [--recurse-submodules] [--parent-basename <basename>]
                  [ [--[no-]exclude-standard] [--cached | --no-index | --untracked] | <tree>...]
                  [--] [<pathspec>...]

DESCRIPTION
       Look for specified patterns in the tracked files in the work tree,
       blobs registered in the index file, or blobs in given tree objects.
       Patterns are lists of one or more search expressions separated by
       newline characters. An empty string as search expression matches all
       lines.

CONFIGURATION
       grep.lineNumber
           If set to true, enable -n option by default.

       grep.column
           If set to true, enable the --column option by default.

       grep.patternType
           Set the default matching behavior. Using a value of basic,
           extended, fixed, or perl will enable the --basic-regexp,
           --extended-regexp, --fixed-strings, or --perl-regexp option
           accordingly, while the value default will return to the default
           matching behavior.

       grep.extendedRegexp
           If set to true, enable --extended-regexp option by default. This
           option is ignored when the grep.patternType option is set to a
           value other than default.

       grep.threads
           Number of grep worker threads to use. If unset (or set to 0), 8
           threads are used by default (for now).

       grep.fullName
           If set to true, enable --full-name option by default.

       grep.fallbackToNoIndex
           If set to true, fall back to git grep --no-index if git grep is
           executed outside of a git repository. Defaults to false.

OPTIONS
       --cached
           Instead of searching tracked files in the working tree, search
           blobs registered in the index file.

       --no-index
           Search files in the current directory that is not managed by Git.

       --untracked
           In addition to searching in the tracked files in the working tree,
           search also in untracked files.

       --no-exclude-standard
           Also search in ignored files by not honoring the .gitignore
           mechanism. Only useful with --untracked.

       --exclude-standard
           Do not pay attention to ignored files specified via the .gitignore
           mechanism. Only useful when searching files in the current
           directory with --no-index.

       --recurse-submodules
           Recursively search in each submodule that has been initialized and
           checked out in the repository. When used in combination with the
           <tree> option the prefix of all submodule output will be the name
           of the parent project's <tree> object. This option has no effect if
           --no-index is given.

       -a, --text
           Process binary files as if they were text.

       --textconv
           Honor textconv filter settings.

       --no-textconv
           Do not honor textconv filter settings. This is the default.

       -i, --ignore-case
           Ignore case differences between the patterns and the files.

       -I
           Don't match the pattern in binary files.

       --max-depth <depth>
           For each <pathspec> given on command line, descend at most <depth>
           levels of directories. A value of -1 means no limit. This option is
           ignored if <pathspec> contains active wildcards. In other words if
           "a*" matches a directory named "a*", "*" is matched literally so
           --max-depth is still effective.

       -r, --recursive
           Same as --max-depth=-1; this is the default.

       --no-recursive
           Same as --max-depth=0.

       -w, --word-regexp
           Match the pattern only at word boundary (either begin at the
           beginning of a line, or preceded by a non-word character; end at
           the end of a line or followed by a non-word character).

       -v, --invert-match
           Select non-matching lines.

       -h, -H
           By default, the command shows the filename for each match.  -h
           option is used to suppress this output.  -H is there for
           completeness and does not do anything except it overrides -h given
           earlier on the command line.

       --full-name
           When run from a subdirectory, the command usually outputs paths
           relative to the current directory. This option forces paths to be
           output relative to the project top directory.

       -E, --extended-regexp, -G, --basic-regexp
           Use POSIX extended/basic regexp for patterns. Default is to use
           basic regexp.

       -P, --perl-regexp
           Use Perl-compatible regular expressions for patterns.

           Support for these types of regular expressions is an optional
           compile-time dependency. If Git wasn't compiled with support for
           them providing this option will cause it to die.

       -F, --fixed-strings
           Use fixed strings for patterns (don't interpret pattern as a
           regex).

       -n, --line-number
           Prefix the line number to matching lines.

       --column
           Prefix the 1-indexed byte-offset of the first match from the start
           of the matching line.

       -l, --files-with-matches, --name-only, -L, --files-without-match
           Instead of showing every matched line, show only the names of files
           that contain (or do not contain) matches. For better compatibility
           with git diff, --name-only is a synonym for --files-with-matches.

       -O[<pager>], --open-files-in-pager[=<pager>]
           Open the matching files in the pager (not the output of grep). If
           the pager happens to be "less" or "vi", and the user specified only
           one pattern, the first file is positioned at the first match
           automatically. The pager argument is optional; if specified, it
           must be stuck to the option without a space. If pager is
           unspecified, the default pager will be used (see core.pager in git-
           config(1)).

       -z, --null
           Output \0 instead of the character that normally follows a file
           name.

       -o, --only-matching
           Print only the matched (non-empty) parts of a matching line, with
           each such part on a separate output line.

       -c, --count
           Instead of showing every matched line, show the number of lines
           that match.

       --color[=<when>]
           Show colored matches. The value must be always (the default),
           never, or auto.

       --no-color
           Turn off match highlighting, even when the configuration file gives
           the default to color output. Same as --color=never.

       --break
           Print an empty line between matches from different files.

       --heading
           Show the filename above the matches in that file instead of at the
           start of each shown line.

       -p, --show-function
           Show the preceding line that contains the function name of the
           match, unless the matching line is a function name itself. The name
           is determined in the same way as git diff works out patch hunk
           headers (see Defining a custom hunk-header in gitattributes(5)).

       -<num>, -C <num>, --context <num>
           Show <num> leading and trailing lines, and place a line containing
           -- between contiguous groups of matches.

       -A <num>, --after-context <num>
           Show <num> trailing lines, and place a line containing -- between
           contiguous groups of matches.

       -B <num>, --before-context <num>
           Show <num> leading lines, and place a line containing -- between
           contiguous groups of matches.

       -W, --function-context
           Show the surrounding text from the previous line containing a
           function name up to the one before the next function name,
           effectively showing the whole function in which the match was
           found.

       --threads <num>
           Number of grep worker threads to use. See grep.threads in
           CONFIGURATION for more information.

       -f <file>
           Read patterns from <file>, one per line.

           Passing the pattern via <file> allows for providing a search
           pattern containing a \0.

           Not all pattern types support patterns containing \0. Git will
           error out if a given pattern type can't support such a pattern. The
           --perl-regexp pattern type when compiled against the PCRE v2
           backend has the widest support for these types of patterns.

           In versions of Git before 2.23.0 patterns containing \0 would be
           silently considered fixed. This was never documented, there were
           also odd and undocumented interactions between e.g. non-ASCII
           patterns containing \0 and --ignore-case.

           In future versions we may learn to support patterns containing \0
           for more search backends, until then we'll die when the pattern
           type in question doesn't support them.

       -e
           The next parameter is the pattern. This option has to be used for
           patterns starting with - and should be used in scripts passing user
           input to grep. Multiple patterns are combined by or.

       --and, --or, --not, ( ... )
           Specify how multiple patterns are combined using Boolean
           expressions.  --or is the default operator.  --and has higher
           precedence than --or.  -e has to be used for all patterns.

       --all-match
           When giving multiple pattern expressions combined with --or, this
           flag is specified to limit the match to files that have lines to
           match all of them.

       -q, --quiet
           Do not output matched lines; instead, exit with status 0 when there
           is a match and with non-zero status when there isn't.

       <tree>...
           Instead of searching tracked files in the working tree, search
           blobs in the given trees.

       --
           Signals the end of options; the rest of the parameters are
           <pathspec> limiters.

       <pathspec>...
           If given, limit the search to paths matching at least one pattern.
           Both leading paths match and glob(7) patterns are supported.

           For more details about the <pathspec> syntax, see the pathspec
           entry in gitglossary(7).

EXAMPLES
       git grep 'time_t' -- '*.[ch]'
           Looks for time_t in all tracked .c and .h files in the working
           directory and its subdirectories.

       git grep -e '#define' --and \( -e MAX_PATH -e PATH_MAX \)
           Looks for a line that has #define and either MAX_PATH or PATH_MAX.

       git grep --all-match -e NODE -e Unexpected
           Looks for a line that has NODE or Unexpected in files that have
           lines that match both.

       git grep solution -- :^Documentation
           Looks for solution, excluding files in Documentation.

GIT
       Part of the git(1) suite

Git 2.25.1                        04/26/2023                       GIT-GREP(1)