The ugrep file pattern searcher

[ README | User Guide | Indexing | Benchmarks | Q&A ]

option -Q opens a query TUI to search files as you type!

Why use ugrep?

ugrep is fast, user-friendly, and equipped with a ton of new features that users wanted
includes an interactive TUI with built-in help, Google-like search with AND/OR/NOT patterns, fuzzy search, searches (nested) zip/7z/tar/pax/cpio archives, tarballs and compressed files gz/Z/bz/bz2/lzma/xz/lz4/zstd/brotli, search and hexdump binary files, search documents such as PDF, doc, docx, and output in JSON, XML, CSV or your own customized format
Unicode extended regex pattern syntax with multi-line pattern matching without requiring special command-line options
includes a file indexer to speed up searching slow and cold file systems
a true drop-in replacement for GNU grep (assuming you copy or symlink ug to grep, and to egrep and to fgrep), unlike other popular grep claiming to be "grep alternatives" or "replacements" when those actually implement incompatible command-line options and use an incompatible regex matcher, i.e. Perl regex only versus POSIX BRE (grep) and ERE (egrep) when ugrep supports all regex modes
benchmarks show that ugrep is (one of) the fastest grep using the high-performance DFA-based regex matcher RE/flex

Development roadmap

if something should be improved or added to ugrep, then let me know!

#1 priority is quality assurance to continue to make sure ugrep has no bugs and is reliable
make ugrep run even faster, see for example #432, #421
share reproducible performance results

Overview

Commands

ug is for interactive use, which loads an optional .ugrep configuration file with your preferences located in the working directory or home directory, ug+ also searches pdfs, documents, e-books, image metadata
ugrep for batch use like GNU grep without a .ugrep configuration file, ugrep+ also searches pdfs, documents, e-books, image metadata

What does ugrep add that GNU grep does not support?

Matches Unicode patterns by default and automatically searches UTF-8, UTF-16 and UTF-32 encoded files
Matches multiple lines with \n or \R in regex patterns, no special options are required to do so!
Built-in help: ug --help, where ug --help WHAT displays options related to WHAT you are looking for

💡 ug --help regex, ug --help globs, ug --help fuzzy, ug --help format.
User-friendly with customizable configuration files used by the ug command intended for interactive use that loads a .ugrep configuration file with your preferences
```
ug PATTERN ...                         ugrep --config PATTERN ...
```
💡 ug --save-config ...options-you-want-to-save... saves a .ugrep config file in the working directory so that the next time you run ug there it uses these options. Do this in your home directory to save a .ugrep config file with options you generally want to use.
Interactive query TUI, press F1 or CTRL-Z for help and TAB/SHIFT-TAB to navigate to dirs and files
```
ug -Q                                  ug -Q -e PATTERN
```
💡 -Q replaces PATTERN on the command line to let you enter patterns interactively in the TUI. In the TUI use ALT+letter keys to toggle short "letter options" on/off, for example ALT-n (option -n) to show/hide line numbers.
Search the contents of archives (zip, tar, pax, jar, cpio, 7z) and compressed files (gz, Z, bz, bz2, lzma, xz, lz4, zstd, brotli)
```
ug -z PATTERN ...                      ug -z --zmax=2 PATTERN ...
```
💡 specify -z --zmax=2 to search compressed files and archives nested within archives. The --zmax argument may range from 1 (default) to 99 for up to 99 decompression and de-archiving steps to search nested archives
Search with Google-like Boolean query patterns using -% patterns with AND (or just space), OR (or a bar |), NOT (or a dash -), using quotes to match exactly, and grouping with ( ) (shown on the left side below); or with options -e (as an "or"), --and, --andnot, and --not regex patterns (shown on the right side below):
```
ug -% 'A B C' ...                      ug -e 'A' --and 'B' --and 'C' ...
ug -% 'A|B C' ...                      ug -e 'A' -e 'B' --and 'C' ...
ug -% 'A -B -C' ...                    ug -e 'A' --andnot 'B' --andnot 'C' ...
ug -% 'A -(B|C)'...                    ug -e 'A' --andnot 'B' --andnot 'C' ...
ug -% '"abc" "def"' ...                ug -e '\Qabc\E' --and '\Qdef\E' ...
```
where A, B and C are arbitrary regex patterns (use option -F to search strings)

💡 specify option -%% (--bool --files) to apply the Boolean query to files as a whole: a file matches if all Boolean conditions are satisfied by matching patterns file-wide. Otherwise, Boolean conditions apply to single lines by default, since grep utilities are generally line-based pattern matchers. Option --stats displays the query in human-readable form after the search completes.

Search pdf, doc, docx, e-book, and more with ug+ using filters associated with filename extensions:

ug+ PATTERN ...

or specify --filter with a file type to use a filter utility:

ug --filter='pdf:pdftotext % -' PATTERN ...
ug --filter='doc:antiword %' PATTERN ...
ug --filter='odt,docx,epub,rtf:pandoc --wrap=preserve -t plain % -o -' PATTERN ...
ug --filter='odt,doc,docx,rtf,xls,xlsx,ppt,pptx:soffice --headless --cat %' PATTERN ...
ug --filter='pem:openssl x509 -text,cer,crt,der:openssl x509 -text -inform der' PATTERN ...
ug --filter='latin1:iconv -f LATIN1 -t UTF-8' PATTERN ...

💡 the ug+ command is the same as the ug command, but also uses filters to search PDFs, documents, and image metadata

Display horizontal context with option -o (--only-matching) and context options -ABC, e.g. to find matches in very long lines, such as Javascript and JSON sources:
```
ug -o -C20 -nk PATTERN longlines.js
```
💡 -o -C20 fits all matches with context in 20 characters before and 20 charactess after a match (i.e. 40 Unicode characters total), -nk outputs line and column numbers.
Find approximate pattern matches with fuzzy search, within the specified Levenshtein distance
```
ug -Z PATTERN ...                      ug -Z3 PATTTERN ...
```
💡 -Zn matches up to n extra, missing or replaced characters, -Z+n matches up to n extra characters, -Z-n matches with up to n missing characters and -Z~n matches up to n replaced characters. -Z defaults to -Z1.
Fzf-like search with regex (or fixed strings with -F), fuzzy matching with up to 4 extra characters with -Z+4 and words only with -w, using -%% for file-wide Boolean searches
```
ug -Q -%% -l -w -Z+4 --sort=best
```
💡 -l lists the matching files in the TUI, press TAB then ALT-y to view a file, SHIFT-TAB and Alt-l to go back to view the list of matching files ordered by best match
Search binary files and display hexdumps with binary pattern matches (Unicode text or -U for byte patterns)
```
ug --hexdump -U BYTEPATTERN ...        ug --hexdump TEXTPATTERN ...
ug -X -U BYTEPATTERN ...               ug -X TEXTPATTERN ...
ug -W -U BYTEPATTERN ...               ug -W TEXTPATTERN ...
```
💡 --hexdump=4chC1 displays 4 columns of hex without a character column c, no hex spacing h, and with one extra hex line C1 before and after a match.

Include files to search by file types or file "magic bytes" or exclude them with ^

ug -t TYPE PATTERN ...                 ug -t ^TYPE PATTERN ...
ug -M 'MAGIC' PATTERN ...              ug -M '^MAGIC' PATTERN ...

Include files and directories to search that match gitignore-style globs or exclude them with ^

ug -g 'FILEGLOB' PATTERN ...           ug -g '^FILEGLOB' PATTERN ...
ug -g 'DIRGLOB/' PATTERN ...           ug -g '^DIRGLOB/' PATTERN ...
ug -g 'PATH/FILEGLOB' PATTERN ...      ug -g '^PATH/FILEGLOB' PATTERN ...
ug -g 'PATH/DIRGLOB/' PATTERN ...      ug -g '^PATH/DIRGLOB/' PATTERN ...

Include files to search by filename extensions (suffix) or exclude them with ^, a shorthand for -g"*.EXT"
```
ug -O EXT PATTERN ...                  ug -O ^EXT PATTERN ...
```
Include hidden files (dotfiles) and directories to search (omitted by default)
```
ug -. PATTERN ...                      ug -g'.*,.*/' PATTERN ...
```
💡 specify hidden in your .ugrep to always search hidden files with ug.
Exclude files specified by .gitignore etc.
```
ug --ignore-files PATTERN ...          ug --ignore-files=.ignore PATTERN ...
```
💡 specify ignore-files in your .ugrep to always ignore them with ug. Add additional ignore-files=... as desired.
Search patterns excluding negative patterns ("match this but not that")
```
ug -e PATTERN -N NOTPATTERN ...        ug -e '[0-9]+' -N 123 ...
```

Use predefined regex patterns to search source code, javascript, XML, JSON, HTML, PHP, markdown, etc.

ug PATTERN -f c++/zap_comments -f c++/zap_strings ...
ug PATTERN -f php/zap_html ...
ug -f js/functions ... | ug PATTERN ...

Sort matching files by name, best match, size, and time

ug --sort PATTERN ...                  ug --sort=size PATTERN ...
ug --sort=changed PATTERN ...          ug --sort=created PATTERN ...
ug -Z --sort=best PATTERN ...          ug --no-sort PATTERN ...

Output results in CSV, JSON, XML, and user-specified formats

ug --csv PATTERN ...                   ug --json PATTERN ...
ug --xml PATTERN ...                   ug --format='file=%f line=%n match=%O%~' PATTERN ...

💡 ug --help format displays help on format % fields for customized output.

Search with PCRE's Perl-compatible regex patterns and display or replace subpattern matches

ug -P PATTERN ...                      ug -P --format='%1 and %2%~' 'PATTERN(SUB1)(SUB2)' ...

Replace patterns in the output with -P and --replace replacement text, optionally containing % formatting fields, using -y to pass the rest of the file through:
```
ug --replace='TEXT' PATTERN ...        ug -y --replace='TEXT' PATTERN ...
ug --replace='(%m:%o)' PATTERN ...     ug -y --replace='(%m:%o)' PATTERN ...
ug -P --replace='%1' PATTERN ...       ug -y -P --replace='%1' PATTERN ...
```
💡 ug --help format displays help on format % fields to optionally use with --replace.
Search files with a specific encoding format such as ISO-8859-1 thru 16, CP 437, CP 850, MACROMAN, KOI8, etc.
```
ug --encoding=LATIN1 PATTERN ...
```

How to install

MacOS

Install the latest ugrep with Homebrew:

$ brew install ugrep

or install with MacPorts:

$ sudo port install ugrep

This installs the ugrep and ug commands, where ug is the same as ugrep but also loads the configuration file .ugrep when present in the working directory or home directory.

Windows

Install with Winget winget install Genivia.ugrep

Or install with Chocolatey choco install ugrep

Or install with Scoop scoop install ugrep

Or download the full-featured ugrep.exe executable as release artifact from https://github.com/Genivia/ugrep/releases. The zipped release contains the main ugrep.exe binary as well as ug.exe. The ug command, intended for interactive use, loads and reads in settings from the .ugrep configuration file (when present in the working directory or home directory).

Add ugrep.exe and ug.exe to your execution path: go to Settings and search for "Path" in Find a Setting. Select environment variables -> Path -> New and add the directory where you placed the ugrep.exe and ug.exe executables.

Tip

Practical hints on using ugrep.exe and ug.exe on the Windows command line:

when quoting patterns and arguments on the command line, do not use single ' quotes but use " instead; most Windows command utilities consider the single ' quotes part of the command-line argument!
file and directory globs are best specified with option -g/GLOB instead of the usual GLOB command line arguments to select files and directories to search, especially for recursive searches;
when specifying an empty pattern "" to match all input, this may be ignored by some Windows command interpreters such as Powershell, in that case you must specify option --match instead;
to match newlines in patterns, you may want to use \R instead of \n to match any Unicode newlines, such as \r\n pairs and single \r and \n.

Alpine Linux

$ apk add ugrep ugrep-doc

Check https://pkgs.alpinelinux.org/packages?name=ugrep for version info.

Arch Linux

$ pacman -S ugrep

Check https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/x86_64/ugrep for version info.

CentOS

First enable the EPEL repository, then you can install ugrep.

$ dnf install ugrep

Check https://packages.fedoraproject.org/pkgs/ugrep/ugrep/ for version info.

Debian

$ apt-get install ugrep

Check https://packages.debian.org/ugrep for version info. To build and try ugrep locally, see "All platforms" build steps further below.

Fedora

$ dnf install ugrep

Check https://packages.fedoraproject.org/pkgs/ugrep/ugrep/ for version info.

FreeBSD

$ pkg install ugrep

Check https://www.freshports.org/textproc/ugrep for version info.

Haiku

$ pkgman install cmd:ugrep

Check https://github.com/haikuports/haikuports/tree/master/app-text/ugrep for version info. To build and try ugrep locally, see "All platforms" build steps further below.

NetBSD

You can use the standard NetBSD package installer (pkgsrc): http://cdn.netbsd.org/pub/pkgsrc/current/pkgsrc/textproc/ugrep/README.html

OpenBSD

$ pkg_add ugrep

Check https://openports.pl/path/sysutils/ugrep for version info.

OpenSUSE

$ zypper install ugrep

Check https://build.opensuse.org/package/show/utilities/ugrep for version info.

RHEL

First enable the EPEL repository, then you can install ugrep.

$ dnf install ugrep

Check https://packages.fedoraproject.org/pkgs/ugrep/ugrep/ for version info.

Other platforms: step 1 download

Clone ugrep with

$ git clone https://github.com/Genivia/ugrep

Or visit https://github.com/Genivia/ugrep/releases to download a specific release.

Other platforms: step 2 consider optional dependencies

You can always add these later, when you need these features:

Option -P (Perl regular expressions) requires either the PCRE2 library (recommended) or the Boost.Regex library (optional fallback). If PCRE2 is not installed, install PCRE2 with e.g. sudo apt-get install -y libpcre2-dev or download PCRE2 and follow the installation instructions. Alternatively, download Boost.Regex and run ./bootstrap.sh and sudo ./b2 --with-regex install. See Boost: getting started.
Option -z (compressed files and archives search) requires the zlib library installed. It is installed on most systems. If not, install it, e.g. with sudo apt-get install -y libz-dev. To search .bz and .bz2 files, install the bzip2 library (recommended), e.g. with sudo apt-get install -y libbz2-dev. To search .lzma and .xz files, install the lzma library (recommended), e.g. with sudo apt-get install -y liblzma-dev. To search .lz4 files, install the lz4 library (optional, not required), e.g. with sudo apt-get install -y liblz4-dev. To search .zst files, install the zstd library (optional, not required), e.g. with sudo apt-get install -y libzstd-dev. To search .br files, install the brotli library (optional, not required), e.g. with sudo apt-get install -y libbrotli-dev. To search .bz3 files, install the bzip3 library (optional, not required), e.g. with sudo apt-get install -y bzip3.

Tip

Even if your system has command line utilities, such as bzip2, that does not necessarily mean that the development libraries such as libbz2 are installed. The development libraries should be installed.

Some Linux systems may not be configured to load dynamic libraries from /usr/local/lib, causing a library load error when running ugrep. To correct this, add export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/usr/local/lib" to your ~/.bashrc file. Or run sudo ldconfig /usr/local/lib.

Other platforms: step 3 build

Execute the ./build.sh script to build ugrep:

$ cd ugrep
$ ./build.sh

This builds the ugrep executable in the ugrep/src directory with ./configure and make -j, verified with make test. When all tests pass, the ugrep executable is copied to ugrep/bin/ugrep and the symlink ugrep/bin/ug -> ugrep/bin/ugrep is added for the ug command.

Note that ug is the same as ugrep but also loads the configuration file .ugrep when present in the working directory or home directory. This means that you can define your default options for ug in .ugrep.

Alternative paths to installed or local libraries may be specified with ./build.sh. To get help on the available build options:

$ ./build.sh --help

You can build static executables by specifying:

$ ./build.sh --enable-static

This may fail if libraries don't link statically, such as brotli. In that case try ./build.sh --enable-static --without-brotli.

You can build ugrep with customized defaults enabled, such as a pager:

$ ./build.sh --enable-pager

Options to select defaults for builds include:

--help display build options
--enable-static build static executables, if possible
--enable-hidden always search hidden files and directories
--enable-pager always use a pager to display output on terminals
--enable-pretty colorize output to terminals and add filename headings
--disable-auto-color disable automatic colors, requires ugrep option --color=auto to show colors
--disable-mmap disable memory mapped files
--disable-sse2 disable SSE2 and AVX optimizations
--disable-avx2 disable AVX2 and AVX512BW optimizations, but compile with SSE2 when supported
--disable-neon disable ARM NEON/AArch64 optimizations
--with-grep-path the default -f path if GREP_PATH is not defined
--with-grep-colors the default colors if GREP_COLORS is not defined

After the build completes, copy ugrep/bin/ugrep and ugrep/bin/ug to a convenient location, for example in your ~/bin directory. Or, if you may want to install the ugrep and ug commands and man pages:

$ sudo make install

This also installs the pattern files with predefined patterns for option -f at /usr/local/share/ugrep/patterns/. Option -f first checks the working directory for the presence of pattern files, if not found checks environment variable GREP_PATH to load the pattern files, and if not found reads the installed predefined pattern files.

Troubleshooting

Git and timestamps

Unfortunately, git clones do not preserve timestamps which means that you may run into "WARNING: 'aclocal-1.15' is missing on your system." or that autoheader was not found when running make.

To work around this problem, run:

$ autoreconf -fi
$ ./build.sh

Compiler warnings

GCC 8 and greater may produce warnings of the sort "note: parameter passing for argument ... changed in GCC 7.1". These warnings should be ignored.

Dockerfile for developers

A Dockerfile is included to build ugrep in a Ubuntu container.

Developers may want to use sanitizers to verify the ugrep code when making significant changes, for example to detect data races with the ThreadSanitizer:

$ ./build.sh CXXFLAGS='-fsanitize=thread -O1 -g'

We checked ugrep with the clang AddressSanitizer, MemorySanitizer, ThreadSanitizer, and UndefinedBehaviorSanitizer. These options incur significant runtime overhead and should not be used for the final build.

🔝 Back to table of contents

Performance comparisons

Please note that the ugrep and ug commands search binary files by default and do not ignore .gitignore specified files, which will not make recursive search performance comparisons meaningful unless options -I and --ignore-files are used. To make these options the default for ug, simply add ignore-binary and ignore-files to your .ugrep configuration file.

For an up-to-date performance comparison of the latest ugrep, please see the ugrep performance benchmarks. Ugrep is faster than GNU grep, Silver Searcher, ack, sift. Ugrep's speed beats ripgrep in most benchmarks.

Using ugrep within Vim

First, let's define the :grep command in Vim to search files recursively. To do so, add the following lines to your .vimrc located in the root directory:

if executable('ugrep')
    set grepprg=ugrep\ -RInk\ -j\ -u\ --tabs=1\ --ignore-files
    set grepformat=%f:%l:%c:%m,%f+%l+%c+%m,%-G%f\\\|%l\\\|%c\\\|%m
endif

This specifies -j case insensitive searches with the Vim :grep command. For case sensitive searches, remove \ -j from grepprg. Multiple matches on the same line are listed in the quickfix window separately. If this is not desired, remove \ -u from grepprg. With this change, only the first match on a line is shown. Option --ignore-files skips files specified in .gitignore files, when present. To limit the depth of recursive searches to the current directory only, append \ -1 to grepprg.

You can now invoke the Vim :grep command in Vim to search files on a specified PATH for PATTERN matches:

:grep PATTERN [PATH]

If you omit PATH, then the working directory is searched. Use % as PATH to search only the currently opened file in Vim:

:grep PATTERN %

The :grep command shows the results in a quickfix window that allows you to quickly jump to the matches found.

To open a quickfix window with the latest list of matches:

:copen

Double-click on a line in this window (or select a line and press ENTER) to jump to the file and location in the file of the match. Enter commands :cn and :cp to jump to the next or previous match, respectively. To update the search results in the quickfix window, just grep them. For example, to recursively search C++ source code marked FIXME in the working directory:

:grep -tc++ FIXME

To close the quickfix window:

:cclose

You can use ugrep options with the :grep command, for example to select single- and multi-line comments in the current file:

:grep -f c++/comments %

Only the first line of a multi-line comment is shown in quickfix, to save space. To show all lines of a multi-line match, remove %-G from grepformat.

A popular Vim tool is ctrlp.vim, which is installed with:

$ cd ~/.vim
$ git clone https://github.com/kien/ctrlp.vim.git bundle/ctrlp.vim

CtrlP uses ugrep by adding the following lines to your .vimrc:

if executable('ugrep')
    set runtimepath^=~/.vim/bundle/ctrlp.vim
    let g:ctrlp_match_window='bottom,order:ttb'
    let g:ctrlp_user_command='ugrep "" %s -Rl -I --ignore-files -3'
endif

where -I skips binary files, option --ignore-files skips files specified in .gitignore files, when present, and option -3 restricts searching directories to three levels (the working directory and up to two levels below).

Start Vim then enter the command:

:helptags ~/.vim/bundle/ctrlp.vim/doc

To view the CtrlP documentation in Vim, enter the command:

:help ctrlp.txt

🔝 Back to table of contents

Using ugrep within Emacs

Thanks to Manuel Uberti, you can now use ugrep in Emacs. To use ugrep instead of GNU grep within Emacs, add the following line to your .emacs.d/init.el file:

(setq-default xref-search-program ‘ugrep)

This means that Emacs commands such as project-find-regexp that rely on Xref can now leverage the power of ugrep.

Furthermore, it is possible to use grep in the Emacs grep commands. For instance, you can run lgrep with ugrep by customizing grep-template to something like the following:

(setq-default grep-template "ugrep --color=always -0Iinr -e <R>")

If you do not have Emacs version 29 (or greater) you can download and build Emacs from the Emacs master branch, or enable Xref integration with ugrep manually:

(with-eval-after-load 'xref
 (push '(ugrep . "xargs -0 ugrep <C> --null -ns -e <R>")
       xref-search-program-alist)
 (setq-default xref-search-program 'ugrep))

🔝 Back to table of contents

Using ugrep to replace GNU/BSD grep

Out-of-the-box ugrep supports all standard GNU/BSD grep command-line options and improves many of them too. For details see notable improvements over grep.

If you want to stick exactly to GNU/BSD grep ASCII/LATIN1 non-UTF Unicode patterns, use option -U to disable full Unicode pattern matching.

In fact, executing ugrep with options -U, -Y, -. and --sort makes it behave exactly like egrep, matching only ASCII/LATIN1 non-UTF Unicode patterns, permitting empty patterns to match and search hidden files instead of ignoring them, respectively. See grep equivalence.

You can create convenient grep aliases with or without options -U, -Y, -. and --sort or include other options as desired.
Or you can create grep, egrep and fgrep executables by copying ugrep to those names. When the ugrep (or ugrep.exe) executable is copied as grep (grep.exe), egrep (egrep.exe), fgrep (fgrep.exe), then option -U, -Y and -. are automatically enabled together with either -G for grep, -E for egrep and -F for fgrep. In addition, when copied as zgrep, zegrep and zfgrep, option -z is enabled. For example, when ugrep is copied as zegrep, options -z, -E, -Y, -. and --sort are enabled.
Likewise, symlinks and hard links to ugrep work fine too to create grep, egrep and fgrep replacements. For example, to create a symlink egrep:
```
sudo ln -s `which ugrep` /opt/local/bin/egrep
```
The /opt/local/bin is just an example and may or may not be in your $path and may or may not be found when executing egrep depending on your $path.

Equivalence to GNU/BSD grep

ugrep is equivalent to GNU/BSD grep when the following options are used:

grep   = ugrep -G -U -Y -. --sort -Dread -dread
egrep  = ugrep -E -U -Y -. --sort -Dread -dread
fgrep  = ugrep -F -U -Y -. --sort -Dread -dread

zgrep  = ugrep -z -G -U -Y -. --sort -Dread -dread
zegrep = ugrep -z -E -U -Y -. --sort -Dread -dread
zfgrep = ugrep -z -F -U -Y -. --sort -Dread -dread

where:

-U disables Unicode wide-character pattern matching, so for example the pattern \xa3 matches byte A3 instead of the Unicode code point U+00A3 represented by the UTF-8 sequence C2 A3. By default in ugrep, \xa3 matches U+00A3. We do not recommend to use -U for text pattern searches, only for binary searches or to search latin-1 (iso-8859-1) files without reporting these files as binary (since ugrep v3.5.0).
-Y enables empty matches, so for example the pattern a* matches every line instead of a sequence of a's. By default in ugrep, the pattern a* matches a sequence of a's. Moreover, in ugrep the pattern a*b*c* matches what it is supposed to match by default. See improvements.
-. searches hidden files (dotfiles). By default, hidden files are ignored, like most Unix utilities.
--sort specifies output sorted by pathname, showing sorted matching files first followed by sorted recursive matches in subdirectories. Otherwise, matching files are reported in no particular order to improve performance;
-Dread and -dread are the GNU/BSD grep defaults but are not recommended, see improvements for an explanation.

🔝 Back to table of contents

Short and quick command aliases

Commonly-used aliases to add to .bashrc to increase productivity:

alias uq     = 'ug -Q'                # interactive TUI search (uses .ugrep config)
alias uz     = 'ug -z'                # compressed files and archives search (uses .ugrep config)
alias ux     = 'ug -U --hexdump'      # binary pattern search (uses .ugrep config)

alias ugit   = 'ug -R --ignore-files' # works like git-grep & define your preferences in .ugrep config

alias grep   = 'ug -G'                # search with basic regular expressions (BRE) like grep
alias egrep  = 'ug -E'                # search with extended regular expressions (ERE) like egrep
alias fgrep  = 'ug -F'                # find string(s) like fgrep
alias zgrep  = 'ug -zG'               # search compressed files and archives with BRE
alias zegrep = 'ug -zE'               # search compressed files and archives with ERE
alias zfgrep = 'ug -zF'               # find string(s) in compressed files and/or archives

alias xdump  = 'ugrep -X ""'                 # hexdump files without searching (don't use .ugrep config)
alias zmore  = 'ugrep+ -z -I -+ --pager ""'  # view compressed, archived and regular files (don't use .ugrep config)

🔝 Back to table of contents

Notable improvements over grep

ugrep starts an interactive query TUI with option -Q.
ugrep matches patterns across multiple lines when patterns match \n.
ugrep matches full Unicode by default (disabled with option -U).
ugrep supports Boolean patterns with AND, OR and NOT (option --bool).
ugrep supports gitignore with option --ignore-files.
ugrep supports fuzzy (approximate) matching with option -Z.
ugrep supports user-defined global and local configuration files.
ugrep searches compressed files and archives with option -z.
ugrep searches cpio, jar, pax, tar, zip and 7z archives with option -z.
ugrep searches cpio, jar, pax, tar, zip and 7z archives recursively stored within archives with -z and --zmax=NUM for up to NUM levels deep.
ugrep searches pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, epub, and more with --filter using third-party format conversion utilities as plugins.
ugrep searches a directory when the FILE argument is a directory, like most Unix/Linux utilities; use option -r to search directories recursively.
ugrep does not match hidden files by default like most Unix/Linux utilities (hidden dotfile file matching is enabled with -.).
ugrep regular expression patterns are more expressive than GNU grep and BSD grep POSIX ERE and support Unicode pattern matching. Extended regular expression (ERE) syntax is the default (i.e. option -E as egrep, whereas -G enables BRE).
ugrep spawns threads to search files concurrently to improve search speed (disabled with option -J1).
ugrep produces hexdumps with -W (output binary matches in hex with text matches output as usual) and -X (output all matches in hex).
ugrep can output matches in JSON, XML, CSV and user-defined formats (with option --format).
ugrep option -f uses GREP_PATH environment variable or the predefined patterns installed in /usr/local/share/ugrep/patterns. If -f is specified and also one or more -e patterns are specified, then options -F, -x, and -w do not apply to -f patterns. This is to avoid confusion when -f is used with predefined patterns that may no longer work properly with these options.
ugrep options -O, -M, and -t specify file extensions, file signature magic byte patterns, and predefined file types, respectively. This allows searching for certain types of files in directory trees, for example with recursive search options -R and -r. Options -O, -M, and -t also applies to archived files in cpio, jar, pax, tar, zip and 7z files.
ugrep option -k, --column-number to display the column number, taking tab spacing into account by expanding tabs, as specified by option --tabs.
ugrep option -P (Perl regular expressions) supports backreferences (with --format) and lookbehinds, which uses the PCRE2 or Boost.Regex library for fast Perl regex matching with a PCRE-like syntax.
ugrep option -b with option -o or with option -u, ugrep displays the exact byte offset of the pattern match instead of the byte offset of the start of the matched line reported by GNU/BSD grep.
ugrep option -u, --ungroup to not group multiple matches per line. This option displays a matched input line again for each additional pattern match on the line. This option is particularly useful with option -c to report the total number of pattern matches per file instead of the number of lines matched per file.
ugrep option -Y enables matching empty patterns. Grepping with empty-matching patterns is weird and gives different results with GNU grep versus BSD grep. Empty matches are not output by ugrep by default, which avoids making mistakes that may produce "random" results. For example, with GNU/BSD grep, pattern a* matches every line in the input, and actually matches xyz three times (the empty transitions before and between the x, y, and z). Allowing empty matches requires ugrep option -Y. Patterns that start with ^ or end with $, such as ^\h*$, match empty. These patterns automatically enable option -Y.
ugrep option -D, --devices=ACTION is skip by default, instead of read. This prevents unexpectedly hanging on named pipes in directories that are recursively searched, as may happen with GNU/BSD grep that read devices by default.
ugrep option -d, --directories=ACTION is skip by default, instead of read. By default, directories specified on the command line are searched, but not recursively deeper into subdirectories.
ugrep offers negative patterns -N PATTERN, which are patterns of the form (?^X) that skip all X input, thus removing X from the search. For example, negative patterns can be used to skip strings and comments when searching for identifiers in source code and find matches that aren't in strings and comments. Predefined zap patterns use negative patterns, for example, use -f cpp/zap_comments to ignore pattern matches in C++ comments.
ugrep ignores the GREP_OPTIONS environment variable, because the behavior of ugrep must be portable and predictable on every system. Also GNU grep abandoned GREP_OPTIONS for this reason. Please use the ug command that loads the .ugrep configuration file located in the working directory or in the home directory when present, or use shell aliases to create new commands with specific search options.

🔝 Back to table of contents

Tutorial

Examples

To perform a search using a configuration file .ugrep placed in the working directory or home directory (note that ug is the same as ugrep --config):

ug PATTERN FILE...

To save a .ugrep configuration file to the working directory, then edit this file in your home directory to customize your preferences for ug defaults:

ug --save-config

To search the working directory and recursively deeper for main (note that -r recurse symlinks is enabled by default if no file arguments are specified):

ug main

Same, but only search C++ source code files recursively, ignoring all other files:

ug -tc++ main

Same, using the interactive query TUI, starting with the initial search pattern main (note that -Q with an initial pattern requires option -e because patterns are normally specified interactively and all command line arguments are considered files/directories):

ug -Q -tc++ -e main

To search for #define (and # define etc) using a regex pattern in C++ files (note that patterns should be quoted to prevent shell globbing of * and ?):

ug -tc++ '#[\t ]*define'

To search for main as a word (-w) recursively without following symlinks (-r) in directory myproject, showing the matching line (-n) and column (-k) numbers next to the lines matched:

ug -r -nkw main myproject

Same, but only search myproject without recursing deeper (note that directory arguments are searched at one level by default):

ug -nkw main myproject

Same, but search myproject and one subdirectory level deeper (two levels) with -2:

ug -2 -nkw main myproject

Same, but only search C++ files in myproject and its subdirectories with -tc++:

ug -tc++ -2 -nkw main myproject

Same, but also search inside archives (e.g. zip and tar files) and compressed files with -z:

ug -z -tc++ -2 -nkw main myproject

Search recursively the working directory for main while ignoring gitignored files (e.g. assuming .gitignore is in the working directory or below):

ug --ignore-files -tc++ -nkw main

To list all files in the working directory and deeper that are not ignored by .gitignore file(s):

ug --ignore-files -l ''

To display the list of file name extensions and "magic bytes" (shebangs) that are searched corresponding to -t arguments:

ug -tlist

To list all shell files recursively, based on extensions and shebangs with -l (note that '' matches any non-empty file):

ug -l -tShell ''

🔝 Back to table of contents

Advanced examples

To search for main in source code while ignoring strings and comment blocks you can use negative patterns with option -N to skip unwanted matches in C/C++ quoted strings and comment blocks:

ug -r -nkw -e 'main' -N '"(\\.|\\\r?\n|[^\\\n"])*"|//.*|/\*(.*\n)*?.*\*+\/' myproject

This is a lot of work to type in correctly! If you are like me, I don't want to spend time fiddling with regex patterns when I am working on something more important. There is an easier way by using ugrep's predefined patterns (-f) that are installed with the ugrep tool:

ug -r -nkw 'main' -f c/zap_strings -f c/zap_comments myproject

This query also searches through other files than C/C++ source code, like READMEs, Makefiles, and so on. We're also skipping symlinks with -r. So let's refine this query by selecting C/C++ files only using option -tc,c++ and include symlinks to files and directories with -R:

ug -R -tc,c++ -nkw 'main' -f c/zap_strings -f c/zap_comments myproject

What if you only want to look for the identifier main but not as a function main(? In this case, use a negative pattern for this to skip unwanted main\h*( pattern matches:

ug -R -tc,c++ -nkw -e 'main' -N 'main\h*\(' -f c/zap_strings -f c/zap_comments myproject

This uses the -e and -N options to explicitly specify a pattern and a negative pattern, respectively, which is essentially forming the pattern main|(?^main\h*\(), where \h matches space and tab. In general, negative patterns are useful to filter out pattern matches that we are not interested in.

As another example, let's say we may want to search for the word FIXME in C/C++ comment blocks. To do so we can first select the comment blocks with ugrep's predefined c/comments pattern AND THEN select lines with FIXME using a pipe:

ug -R -tc,c++ -nk -f c/comments myproject | ug -w 'FIXME'

Filtering results with pipes is generally easier than using AND-OR logic that some search tools use. This approach follows the Unix spirit to keep utilities simple and use them in combination for more complex tasks.

Let's produce a sorted list of all identifiers found in Java source code while skipping strings and comments:

ug -R -tjava -f java/names myproject | sort -u

This matches Java Unicode identifiers using the regex \p{JavaIdentifierStart}\p{JavaIdentifierPart}* defined in patterns/java/names.

With traditional grep and grep-like tools it takes great effort to recursively search for the C/C++ source file that defines function qsort, requiring something like this:

ug -R --include='*.c' --include='*.cpp' '^([ \t]*[[:word:]:*&]+)+[ \t]+qsort[ \t]*\([^;\n]+$' myproject

Fortunately, with ugrep we can simply select all function definitions in files with extension .c or .cpp by using option -Oc,cpp and by using a predefined pattern functions that is installed with the tool to produce all function definitions. Then we select the one we want:

ug -R -Oc,cpp -nk -f c/functions | ug 'qsort'

Note that we could have used -tc,c++ to select C/C++ files, but this also includes header files when we want to only search .c and .cpp files.

We can also skip files and directories from being searched that are defined in .gitignore. To do so we use --ignore-files to exclude any files and directories from recursive searches that match the globs in .gitignore, when one or more .gitignore files are found:

ug -R -tc++ --ignore-files -f c++/defines

This searches C++ files (-tc++) in the working directory for #define lines (-f c++/defines), while skipping files and directories declared in .gitignore. If you find this too long to type then define an alias to search GitHub directories:

alias ugit='ugrep -R --ignore-files'
ugit -tc++ -f c++/defines

To highlight matches when pushed through a chain of pipes we should use --color=always:

ugit --color=always -tc++ -f c++/defines | ugrep -w 'FOO.*'

This returns a color-highlighted list of all #define FOO... macros in C/C++ source code files, skipping files defined in .gitignore.

Note that the complement of --exclude is not --include, because exclusions always take precedence over inclusions, so we cannot reliably list the files that are ignored with --include-from='.gitignore'. Only files explicitly specified with --include and directories explicitly specified with --include-dir are visited. The --include-from from lists globs that are considered both files and directories to add to --include and --include-dir, respectively. This means that when directory names and directory paths are not explicitly listed in this file then it will not be visited using --include-from.

Because ugrep checks if the input is valid UTF-encoded Unicode (unless -U is used), it is possible to use it as a filter to ignore non-UTF output produced by a program:

program | ugrep -I ''

If the program produces valid output then the output is passed through, otherwise the output is filtered out option -I. If the output is initially valid for a very large portion but is followed by invalid output, then ugrep may initially show the output up to but excluding the invalid output after which further output is blocked.

To filter lines that are valid ASCII or UTF-encoded, while removing lines that are not:

program | ugrep '[\p{Unicode}--[\n]]+'

Note that \p{Unicode} matches \n but we don't want to matche the whole file! Just lines with [\p{Unicode}--[\n]]+.

🔝 Back to table of contents

Displaying helpful info

The ugrep man page:

man ugrep

To show a help page:

ug --help

To show options that mention WHAT:

ug --help WHAT

To show a list of -t TYPES option values:

ug -tlist

In the interactive query TUI, press F1 or CTRL-Z for help and options:

ug -Q

🔝 Back to table of contents

Configuration files

--config[=FILE], ---[FILE]
        Use configuration FILE.  The default FILE is `.ugrep'.  The working
        directory is checked first for FILE, then the home directory.  The
        options specified in the configuration FILE are parsed first,
        followed by the remaining options specified on the command line.
        The ug command automatically loads a `.ugrep' configuration file,
        unless --config=FILE or --no-config is specified.
--no-config
        Do not load the default .ugrep configuration file.
--save-config[=FILE] [OPTIONS]
        Save configuration FILE to include OPTIONS.  Update FILE when
        first loaded with --config=FILE.  The default FILE is `.ugrep',
        which is automatically loaded by the ug command.  When FILE is a
        `-', writes the configuration to standard output.  Only part of the
        OPTIONS are saved that do not cause searches to fail when combined
        with other options.  Additional options may be specified by editing
        the saved configuration file.  A configuration file may be modified
        manually to specify one or more config[=FILE] to indirectly load
        the specified FILEs, but recursive config loading is not allowed.

The ug command versus the ugrep command

The ug command is intended for context-dependent interactive searching and is equivalent to the ugrep --config command to load the configuration file .ugrep when present in the working directory or, when not found, in the home directory:

ug PATTERN ...
ugrep --config PATTERN ...

The ug command also sorts files by name per directory searched. A configuration file contains NAME=VALUE pairs per line, where NAME is the name of a long option (without --) and =VALUE is an argument, which is optional and may be omitted depending on the option. Empty lines and lines starting with a # are ignored:

# Color scheme
colors=cx=hb:ms=hiy:mc=hic:fn=hi+y+K:ln=hg:cn=hg:bn=hg:se=
# Disable searching hidden files and directories
no-hidden
# ignore files specified in .ignore and .gitignore in recursive searches
ignore-files=.ignore
ignore-files=.gitignore

Command line options are parsed in the following order: first the (default or named) configuration file is loaded, then the remaining options and arguments on the command line are parsed.

Option --stats displays the configuration file used after searching.

Named configuration files

Named configuration files are intended to streamline custom search tasks, by reducing the number of command line options to just one ---FILE to use the collection of options specified in FILE. The --config=FILE option and its abbreviated form ---FILE load the specified configuration file located in the working directory or, when not found, located in the home directory:

ug ---FILE PATTERN ...
ugrep ---FILE PATTERN ...

An error is produced when FILE is not found or cannot be read.

Named configuration files can be used to define a collection of options that are specific to the requirements of a task in the development workflow of a project. For example to report unresolved issues by checking the source code and documentation for comments with FIXME and TODO items. Such named configuration file can be localized to a project by placing it in the project directory, or it can be made global by placing it in the home directory. For visual feedback, a color scheme specific to this task can be specified with option colors in the configuration FILE to help identify the output produced by a named configuration as opposed to the default configuration.

Saving a configuration file

The --save-config option saves a .ugrep configuration file to the working directory using the current configuration loaded with --config. This saves the current configuration combined with additional options when specified also. Only those options that cannot conflict with other options and options that cannot negatively impact search results will be saved.

The --save-config=FILE option saves the configuration to the specified FILE. The configuration is written to standard output when FILE is a -.

Alternatively, a configuration file may be manually created or modified. A configuration file may include one or more config[=FILE] to indirectly load the specfified FILE, but recursive config loading is prohibited. The simplest way to manuall create a configuration file is to specify config at the top of the file, followed by the long options to override the defaults.

🔝 Back to table of contents

Interactive search with -Q

-Q[=DELAY], --query[=DELAY]
        Query mode: start a TUI to perform interactive searches.  This mode
        requires an ANSI capable terminal.  An optional DELAY argument may
        be specified to reduce or increase the response time to execute
        searches after the last key press, in increments of 100ms, where
        the default is 3 (300ms delay).  No whitespace may be given between
        -Q and its argument DELAY.  Initial patterns may be specified with
        -e PATTERN, i.e. a PATTERN argument requires option -e.  Press F1
        or CTRL-Z to view the help screen.  Press F2 or CTRL-Y to invoke a
        command to view or edit the file shown at the top of the screen.
        The command can be specified with option --view, or defaults to
        environment variable PAGER when defined, or EDITOR.  Press Tab and
        Shift-Tab to navigate directories and to select a file to search.
        Press Enter to select lines to output.  Press ALT-l for option -l
        to list files, ALT-n for -n, etc.  Non-option commands include
        ALT-] to increase context.  See also options --no-confirm, --delay,
        --split and --view.
--no-confirm
        Do not confirm actions in -Q query TUI.  The default is confirm.
--delay=DELAY
        Set the default -Q key response delay.  Default is 3 for 300ms.
--split
        Split the -Q query TUI screen on startup.
--view[=COMMAND]
        Use COMMAND to view/edit a file in -Q query TUI by pressing CTRL-Y.

This option starts a user interface to enter search patterns interactively:

Press F1 or CTRL-Z to view a help screen and to enable or disable options.
Press Alt with a key corresponding to a ugrep option letter or digit to enable or disable the ugrep option. For example, pressing Alt-c enables option -c to count matches. Pressing Alt-c again disables -c. Options can be toggled with the Alt key while searching or when viewing the help screen. If Alt/Meta keys are not supported (e.g. X11 xterm), then press CTRL-O followed by the key corresponding to the option.
Press Alt-g to enter or edit option -g file and directory matching globs, a comma-separated list of gitignore-style glob patterns. Presssing ESC returns control to the query pattern prompt (the globs are saved). When a glob is preceded by a ! or a ^, skips files whose name matches the glob When a glob contains a /, full pathnames are matched. Otherwise basenames are matched. When a glob ends with a /, directories are matched.
The query TUI prompt switches between Q> (normal), F> (fixed strings), G> (basic regex), P> (Perl matching), and Z> (fuzzy matching). When the --glob= prompt is shown, a comma-separated list of gitignore-style glob patterns may be entered. Presssing ESC returns control to the pattern prompt.
Press CTRL-T to split the TUI screen to preview a file in the bottom pane.
Press CTRL-Y to view a file with a pager specified with --view.
Press Enter to switch to selection mode to select lines to output when ugrep exits. Normally, ugrep in query mode does not output any results unless results are selected. While in selection mode, select or deselect lines with Enter or Del, or press A to select all results.
The file listed or shown at the top of the screen, or beneath the cursor in selection mode, is edited by pressing F2 or CTRL-Y. A file viewer or editor may be specified with --view=COMMAND. Otherwise, the PAGER or EDITOR environment variables are used to invoke the command with CTRL-Y. Filenames must be enabled and visible in the output to use this feature.
Press TAB to chdir one level down into the directory of the file listed or viewed at the top of the screen. If no directory exists, the file itself is selected to search. Press Shift-TAB to go back up one level.
Press CTRL-] to toggle colors on and off. Normally ugrep in query mode uses colors and other markup to highlight results. When colors are turned off, selected results are also not colored in the output produced by ugrep when ugrep exits. When colors are turned on (the default), selected results are colored depending on the --color option.
The query engine is optimized to limit system load by performing on-demand searches to produce results only for the visible parts shown in the interface. That is, results are shown on demand, when scrolling down and when exiting when all results are selected. When the search pattern is modified, the previous search query is cancelled when incomplete. This effectively limits the load on the system to maintain a high degree of responsiveness of the query engine to user input. Because the search results are produced on demand, occasionally you may notice a flashing "Searching..." message when searching files.
To display results faster, specify a low DELAY value such as 1. However, lower values may increase system load as a result of repeatedly initiating and cancelling searches by each key pressed.
To avoid long pathnames to obscure the view, --heading is enabled by default. Press Alt-+ to switch headings off.

Query TUI key mapping:

key(s)	function
`Alt-key`	toggle ugrep command-line option corresponding to `key`
`Alt-/`xxxx`/`	insert Unicode hex code point U+xxxx
`Esc` `Ctrl-C`	go back or exit
`Ctrl-Q`	quick exit and output the results selected in selection mode
`Tab`	chdir to the directory of the file shown at the top of the screen or select file
`Shift-Tab`	chdir one level up or deselect file
`Enter`	enter selection mode and toggle selected lines to output on exit
`Up` `Ctrl-P`	move up
`Down` `Ctrl-N`	move down
`Left` `Ctrl-B`	move left
`Right` `Ctrl-F`	move right
`PgUp` `Ctrl-G`	move display up by a page
`PgDn` `Ctrl-D`	move display down by a page
`Alt-Up`	move display up by 1/2 page (MacOS `Shift-Up`)
`Alt-Down`	move display down by 1/2 page (MacOS `Shift-Down`)
`Alt-Left`	move display left by 1/2 page (MacOS `Shift-Left`)
`Alt-Right`	move display right by 1/2 page (MacOS `Shift-Right`)
`Home` `Ctrl-A`	move cursor to the beginning of the line
`End` `Ctrl-E`	move cursor to the end of the line
`Ctrl-K`	delete after cursor
`Ctrl-L`	refresh screen
`Ctrl-O`+`key`	toggle ugrep command-line option corresponding to `key`, same as `Alt-key`
`Ctrl-R` `F4`	jump to bookmark
`Ctrl-S`	jump to the next dir/file/context
`Ctrl-T` `F5`	toggle split screen (`--split` starts a split-screen TUI)
`Ctrl-U`	delete before cursor
`Ctrl-V`	verbatim character
`Ctrl-W`	jump back one dir/file/context
`Ctrl-X` `F3`	set bookmark
`Ctrl-Y` `F2`	view or edit the file shown at the top of the screen
`Ctrl-Z` `F1`	view help and options
`Ctrl-^`	chdir back to the starting working directory
`Ctrl-]`	toggle color/mono
`Ctrl-\`	terminate process

To interactively search the files in the working directory and below:

ug -Q

Same, but restricted to C++ files only and ignoring .gitignore files:

ug -Q -tc++ --ignore-files

To interactively search all makefiles in the working directory and below:

ug -Q -g 'Makefile*' -g 'makefile*'

Same, but for up to 2 directory levels (working and one subdirectory level):

ug -Q -2 -g 'Makefile*' -g 'makefile*'

To interactively view the contents of main.cpp and search it, where -y shows any nonmatching lines as context:

ug -Q -y main.cpp

To interactively search main.cpp, starting with the search pattern TODO and a match context of 5 lines (context can be interactively enabled and disabled, this also overrides the default context size of 2 lines):

ug -Q -C5 -e TODO main.cpp

To view and search the contents of an archive (e.g. zip, tarball):

ug -Q -z archive.tar.gz

To interactively select files from project.zip to decompress with unzip, using ugrep query selection mode (press Enter to select lines):

unzip project.zip `zipinfo -1 project.zip | ugrep -Q`

🔝 Back to table of contents

Recursively list matching files with -l, -R, -r, -S, --depth, -g, -O, and -t

-L, --files-without-match
        Only the names of files not containing selected lines are written
        to standard output.  Pathnames are listed once per file searched.
        If the standard input is searched, the string ``(standard input)''
        is written.
-l, --files-with-matches
        Only the names of files containing selected lines are written to
        standard output.  ugrep will only search a file until a match has
        been found, making searches potentially less expensive.  Pathnames
        are listed once per file searched.  If the standard input is
        searched, the string ``(standard input)'' is written.
-R, --dereference-recursive
        Recursively read all files under each directory.  Follow all
        symbolic links to files and directories, unlike -r.
-r, --recursive
        Recursively read all files under each directory, following symbolic
        links only if they are on the command line.  Note that when no FILE
        arguments are specified and input is read from a terminal,
        recursive searches are performed as if -r is specified.
-S, --dereference-files
        When -r is specified, symbolic links to files are followed, but not
        to directories.  The default is not to follow symbolic links.
--depth=[MIN,][MAX], -1, -2, -3, ... -9, -10, -11, -12, ...
        Restrict recursive searches from MIN to MAX directory levels deep,
        where -1 (--depth=1) searches the specified path without recursing
        into subdirectories.  Note that -3 -5, -3-5, and -35 search 3 to 5
        levels deep.  Enables -r if -R or -r is not specified.
-g GLOBS, --glob=GLOBS
        Search only files whose name matches the specified comma-separated
        list of GLOBS, same as --include='glob' for each `glob' in GLOBS.
        When a `glob' is preceded by a `!' or a `^', skip files whose name
        matches `glob', same as --exclude='glob'.  When `glob' contains a
        `/', full pathnames are matched.  Otherwise basenames are matched.
        When `glob' ends with a `/', directories are matched, same as
        --include-dir='glob' and --exclude-dir='glob'.  A leading `/'
        matches the working directory.  This option may be repeated and may
        be combined with options -M, -O and -t to expand searches.  See
        `ugrep --help globs' and `man ugrep' section GLOBBING for details.
-O EXTENSIONS, --file-extension=EXTENSIONS
        Search only files whose filename extensions match the specified
        comma-separated list of EXTENSIONS, same as --include='*.ext' for
        each `ext' in EXTENSIONS.  When `ext' is preceded by a `!' or a
        `^', skip files whose filename extensions matches `ext', same as
        --exclude='*.ext'.  This option may be repeated and may be combined
        with options -g, -M and -t to expand the recursive search.
-t TYPES, --file-type=TYPES
        Search only files associated with TYPES, a comma-separated list of
        file types.  Each file type corresponds to a set of filename
        extensions passed to option -O and filenames passed to option -g.
        For capitalized file types, the search is expanded to include files
        with matching file signature magic bytes, as if passed to option
        -M.  When a type is preceded by a `!' or a `^', excludes files of
        the specified type.  This option may be repeated.
--stats
        Output statistics on the number of files and directories searched,
        and the inclusion and exclusion constraints applied.

If no FILE arguments are specified and input is read from a terminal, recursive searches are performed as if -r is specified. To force reading from standard input, specify - as the FILE argument.

To recursively list all non-empty files in the working directory:

ug -r -l ''

To list all non-empty files in the working directory but not deeper (since a FILE argument is given, in this case . for the working directory):

ug -l '' .

To list all non-empty files in directory mydir but not deeper (since a FILE argument is given):

ug -l '' mydir

To list all non-empty files in directory mydir and deeper while following symlinks:

ug -R -l '' mydir

To recursively list all non-empty files on the path specified, while visiting subdirectories only, i.e. directories mydir/ and subdirectories at one level deeper mydir/*/ are visited (note that -2 -l can be abbreviated to -l2):

ug -2 -l '' mydir

To recursively list all non-empty files in directory mydir, not following any symbolic links (except when on the command line such as mydir):

ug -rl '' mydir

To recursively list all Makefiles matching the text CPP:

ug -l -tmake 'CPP'

To recursively list all Makefile.* matching bin_PROGRAMS:

ug -l -g'Makefile.*' 'bin_PROGRAMS'

To recursively list all non-empty files with extension .sh, with -Osh:

ug -l -Osh ''

To recursively list all shell scripts based on extensions and shebangs with -tShell:

ug -l -tShell ''

To recursively list all shell scripts based on extensions only with -tshell:

ug -l -tshell ''

🔝 Back to table of contents

Boolean query patterns with -%, -%%, --and, --not

--bool, -%, -%%
        Specifies Boolean query patterns.  A Boolean query pattern is
        composed of `AND', `OR', `NOT' operators and grouping with `(' `)'.
        Spacing between subpatterns is the same as `AND', `|' is the same
        as `OR' and a `-' is the same as `NOT'.  The `OR' operator binds
        more tightly than `AND'.  For example, --bool 'A|B C|D' matches
        lines with (`A' or `B') and (`C' or `D'), --bool 'A -B' matches
        lines with `A' and not `B'.  Operators `AND', `OR', `NOT' require
        proper spacing.  For example, --bool 'A OR B AND C OR D' matches
        lines with (`A' or `B') and (`C' or `D'), --bool 'A AND NOT B'
        matches lines with `A' without `B'.  Quoted subpatterns are matched
        literally as strings.  For example, --bool 'A "AND"|"OR"' matches
        lines with `A' and also either `AND' or `OR'.  Parentheses are used
        for grouping.  For example, --bool '(A B)|C' matches lines with `A'
        and `B', or lines with `C'.  Note that all subpatterns in a Boolean
        query pattern are regular expressions, unless -F is specified.
        Options -E, -F, -G, -P and -Z can be combined with --bool to match
        subpatterns as strings or regular expressions (-E is the default.)
        This option does not apply to -f FILE patterns.  The double short
        option -%% enables options --bool --files.  Option --stats displays
        the Boolean search patterns applied.  See also options --and,
        --andnot, --not, --files and --lines.
--files
        Boolean file matching mode, the opposite of --lines.  When combined
        with option --bool, matches a file if all Boolean conditions are
        satisfied.  For example, --bool --files 'A B|C -D' matches a file
        if some lines match `A', and some lines match either `B' or `C',
        and no line matches `D'.  See also options --and, --andnot, --not,
        --bool and --lines.  The double short option -%% enables options
        --bool --files.
--lines
        Boolean line matching mode for option --bool, the default mode.
--and [[-e] PATTERN] ... -e PATTERN
        Specify additional patterns to match.  Patterns must be specified
        with -e.  Each -e PATTERN following this option is considered an
        alternative pattern to match, i.e. each -e is interpreted as an OR
        pattern.  For example, -e A -e B --and -e C -e D matches lines with
        (`A' or `B') and (`C' or `D').  Note that multiple -e PATTERN are
        alternations that bind more tightly together than --and.  Option
        --stats displays the search patterns applied.  See also options
        --not, --andnot, and --bool.
--andnot [[-e] PATTERN] ...
        Combines --and --not.  See also options --and, --not, and --bool.
--not [-e] PATTERN
        Specifies that PATTERN should not match.  Note that -e A --not -e B
        matches lines with `A' or lines without a `B'.  To match lines with
        `A' that have no `B', specify -e A --andnot -e B.  Option --stats
        displays the search patterns applied.  See also options --and,
        --andnot, and --bool.
--stats
        Output statistics on the number of files and directories searched,
        and the inclusion and exclusion constraints applied.

Note that the --and, --not, and --andnot options require -e PATTERN.

The -% option makes all patterns Boolean-based, supporting the following logical operations listed from the highest level of precedence to the lowest:

operator	alternative	result
`"x"`		match `x` literally and exactly as specified (using the standard regex escapes `\Q` and `\E`)
`( )`		Boolean expression grouping
`-x`	`NOT x`	inverted match, i.e. matches if `x` does not match
`x\|y`	`x OR y`	matches lines with `x` or `y`
`x y`	`x AND y`	matches lines with both `x` and `y`

x and y are subpatterns that do not start with the special symbols |, -, and ( (use quotes or a \ escape to match these);
- and NOT are the same and take precedence over OR, which means that -x|y == (-x)|y for example.
| and OR are the same and take precedence over AND, which means that x y|z == x (y|z) for example;

The --stats option displays the Boolean queries in human-readable form converted to CNF (Conjunctive Normal Form), after the search is completed. To show the CNF without a search, read from standard input terminated by an EOF, like echo | ugrep -% '...' --stats.

Subpatterns are color-highlighted in the output, except those negated with NOT (a NOT subpattern may still show up in a matching line when using an OR-NOT pattern like x|-y). Note that subpatterns may overlap. In that case only the first matching subpattern is color-highlighted.

Multiple lines may be matched when subpatterns match newlines. There is one exception however: subpatterns ending with (?=X) lookaheads may not match when X spans multiple lines.

Empty patterns match any line (grep standard). Therefore, -% 'x|""|y' matches everything and x and y are not color-highlighted. Option -y should be used to show every line as context, for example -y 'x|y'.

Fzf-like interactive querying (Boolean search with fixed strings with fuzzy matching to allow e.g. up to 4 extra characters matched with -Z+4 in words with -w), press TAB and ALT-y to view a file with matches. Press SHIFT-TAB and ALT-l to go back to the list of matching files:

ug -Q -%% -l -w -F -Z+4 --sort=best

To recursively find all files containing both hot and dog anywhere in the file with option --files:

ug -%% 'hot dog'
ug --files -e hot --and dog

To find lines containing both hot and dog in myfile.txt:

ug -% 'hot dog' myfile.txt
ug -e hot --and dog myfile.txt

To find lines containing place and then also hotdog or taco (or both) in myfile.txt:

ug -% 'hotdog|taco place' myfile.txt
ug -e hotdog -e taco --and place myfile.txt

Same, but exclude lines matching diner:

ug -% 'hotdog|taco place -diner' myfile.txt
ug -e hotdog -e taco --and place --andnot diner myfile.txt

To find lines with diner or lines that match both fast and food but not bad in myfile.txt:

ug -% 'diner|(fast food -bad)' myfile.txt

To find lines with fast food (exactly) or lines with diner but not bad or old in myfile.txt:

ug -% '"fast food"|diner -bad -old' myfile.txt

Same, but using a different Boolean expression that has the same meaning:

ug -% '"fast food"|diner -(bad|old)' myfile.txt

To find lines with diner implying good in myfile.txt (that is, show lines with good without diner and show lines with diner but only those with good, which is logically implied!):

ug -% 'good|-diner' myfile.txt
ug -e good --not diner myfile.txt

To find lines with foo and -bar and "baz" in myfile.txt (not that - and " should be matched using \ escapes and with --and -e -bar):

ug -% 'foo \-bar \"baz\"' myfile.txt
ug -e foo --and -e -bar --and '"baz"' myfile.txt

To search myfile.cpp for lines with TODO or FIXME but not both on the same line, like XOR:

ug -% 'TODO|FIXME -(TODO FIXME)' myfile.cpp
ug -e TODO -e FIXME --and --not TODO --not FIXME myfile.cpp

🔝 Back to table of contents

Search this but not that with -v, -e, -N, -f, -L, -w, -x

-e PATTERN, --regexp=PATTERN
        Specify a PATTERN to search the input.  An input line is selected
        if it matches any of the specified patterns.  This option is useful
        when multiple -e options are used to specify multiple patterns, or
        when a pattern begins with a dash (`-'), or to specify a pattern
        after option -f or after the FILE arguments.
-f FILE, --file=FILE
        Read newline-separated patterns from FILE.  White space in patterns
        is significant.  Empty lines in FILE are ignored.  If FILE does not
        exist, the GREP_PATH environment variable is used as path to FILE.
        If that fails, looks for FILE in /usr/local/share/ugrep/pattern.
        When FILE is a `-', standard input is read.  This option may be
        repeated.
-L, --files-without-match
        Only the names of files not containing selected lines are written
        to standard output.  Pathnames are listed once per file searched.
        If the standard input is searched, the string ``(standard input)''
        is written.
-N PATTERN, --neg-regexp=PATTERN
        Specify a negative PATTERN to reject specific -e PATTERN matches
        with a counter pattern.  Note that longer patterns take precedence
        over shorter patterns, i.e. a negative pattern must be of the same
        length or longer to reject matching patterns.  Option -N cannot be
        specified with -P.  This option may be repeated.
-v, --invert-match
        Selected lines are those not matching any of the specified
        patterns.
-w, --word-regexp
        The PATTERN is searched for as a word, such that the matching text
        is preceded by a non-word character and is followed by a non-word
        character.  Word-like characters are Unicode letters, digits and
        connector punctuations such as underscore.
-x, --line-regexp
        Select only those matches that exactly match the whole line, as if
        the patterns are surrounded by ^ and $.

See also Boolean query patterns with -%, -%%, --and, --not for more powerful Boolean query options than the traditional GNU/BSD grep options.

To display lines in file myfile.sh but not lines matching ^[ \t]*#:

ug -v '^[ \t]*#' myfile.sh

To search myfile.cpp for lines with FIXME and urgent, but not Scotty:

ugrep FIXME myfile.cpp | ugrep urgent | ugrep -v Scotty

Same, but using -% for Boolean queries:

ug -% 'FIXME urgent -Scotty' myfile.cpp

To search for decimals using pattern \d+ that do not start with 0 using negative pattern 0\d+ and excluding 555:

ug -e '\d+' -N '0\d+' -N 555 myfile.cpp

To search for words starting with disp without matching display in file myfile.py by using a "negative pattern" -N '/<display\>' where -N specifies an additional negative pattern to skip matches:

ug -e '\<disp' -N '\<display\>' myfile.py

To search for lines with the word display in file myfile.py skipping this word in strings and comments, where -f specifies patterns in files which are predefined patterns in this case:

ug -n -w 'display' -f python/zap_strings -f python/zap_comments myfile.py

To display lines that are not blank lines:

ug -x -e '.*' -N '\h*' myfile.py

Same, but using -v and -x with \h*, i.e. pattern ^\h*$:

ug -v -x '\h*' myfile.py

To recursively list all Python files that do not contain the word display, allowing the word to occur in strings and comments:

ug -RL -tPython -w 'display' -f python/zap_strings -f python/zap_comments

🔝 Back to table of contents

Search non-Unicode files with --encoding

--encoding=ENCODING
        The encoding format of the input.  The default ENCODING is binary
        and UTF-8 which are the same.  Note that option -U specifies binary
        PATTERN matching (text matching is the default.)

Binary, ASCII and UTF-8 files do not require this option to search them. Also UTF-16 and UTF-32 files do not require this option to search them, assuming that UTF-16 and UTF-32 files start with a UTF BOM (byte order mark) as usual. Other file encodings require option --encoding=ENCODING:

encoding	parameter
ASCII	n/a
UTF-8	n/a
UTF-16 with BOM	n/a
UTF-32 with BOM	n/a
UTF-16 BE w/o BOM	`UTF-16` or `UTF-16BE`
UTF-16 LE w/o BOM	`UTF-16LE`
UTF-32 w/o BOM	`UTF-32` or `UTF-32BE`
UTF-32 w/o BOM	`UTF-32LE`
Latin-1	`LATIN1` or `ISO-8859-1`
ISO-8859-1	`ISO-8859-1`
ISO-8859-2	`ISO-8859-2`
ISO-8859-3	`ISO-8859-3`
ISO-8859-4	`ISO-8859-4`
ISO-8859-5	`ISO-8859-5`
ISO-8859-6	`ISO-8859-6`
ISO-8859-7	`ISO-8859-7`
ISO-8859-8	`ISO-8859-8`
ISO-8859-9	`ISO-8859-9`
ISO-8859-10	`ISO-8859-10`
ISO-8859-11	`ISO-8859-11`
ISO-8859-13	`ISO-8859-13`
ISO-8859-14	`ISO-8859-14`
ISO-8859-15	`ISO-8859-15`
ISO-8859-16	`ISO-8859-16`
MAC (CR=newline)	`MAC`
MacRoman (CR=newline)	`MACROMAN`
EBCDIC	`EBCDIC`
DOS code page 437	`CP437`
DOS code page 850	`CP850`
DOS code page 858	`CP858`
Windows code page 1250	`CP1250`
Windows code page 1251	`CP1251`
Windows code page 1252	`CP1252`
Windows code page 1253	`CP1253`
Windows code page 1254	`CP1254`
Windows code page 1255	`CP1255`
Windows code page 1256	`CP1256`
Windows code page 1257	`CP1257`
Windows code page 1258	`CP1258`
KOI8-R	`KOI8-R`
KOI8-U	`KOI8-U`
KOI8-RU	`KOI8-RU`

Note that regex patterns are always specified in UTF-8 (includes ASCII). To search binary files with binary patterns, see searching and displaying binary files with -U, -W, and -X.

To recursively list all files that are ASCII (i.e. 7-bit):

ug -L '[^[:ascii:]]'

To recursively list all files that are non-ASCII, i.e. UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32 files with non-ASCII Unicode characters (U+0080 and up):

ug -l '[^[:ascii:]]'

To check if a file contains non-ASCII Unicode (U+0080 and up):

ug -q '[^[:ascii:]]' myfile && echo "contains Unicode"

To remove invalid Unicode characters from a file (note that -o may not work because binary data is detected and rejected and newlines are added, but --format="%o% does not check for binary and copies the match "as is"):

ug "[\p{Unicode}\n]" --format="%o" badfile.txt

To recursively list files with invalid UTF content (i.e. invalid UTF-8 byte sequences or files that contain any UTF-8/16/32 code points that are outside the valid Unicode range) by matching any code point with . and by using a negative pattern -N '\p{Unicode}' to ignore each valid Unicode character:

ug -l -e '.' -N '\p{Unicode}'

To display lines containing laughing face emojis:

ug '[😀-😏]' emojis.txt

The same results are obtained using \x{hhhh} to select a Unicode character range:

ug '[\x{1F600}-\x{1F60F}]' emojis.txt

To display lines containing the names Gödel (or Goedel), Escher, or Bach:

ug 'G(ö|oe)del|Escher|Bach' GEB.txt wiki.txt

To search for lorem in lower or upper case in a UTF-16 file that is marked with a UTF-16 BOM:

ug -iw 'lorem' utf16lorem.txt

To search utf16lorem.txt when this file has no UTF-16 BOM, using --encoding:

ug --encoding=UTF-16 -iw 'lorem' utf16lorem.txt

To search file spanish-iso.txt encoded in ISO-8859-1:

ug --encoding=ISO-8859-1 -w 'año' spanish-iso.txt

🔝 Back to table of contents

Matching multiple lines of text

-o, --only-matching
        Output only the matching part of lines.  If -A, -B or -C is
        specified, fits the match and its context on a line within the
        specified number of columns.

Multiple lines may be matched by patterns that match newline characters. Use option -o to output the match only, not the full lines(s) that match.

To match a \n line break, include \n in the pattern to match the LF character. If you want to match \r\n and \n line breaks, use \r?\n or simply use \R to match any Unicode line break \r\n, \r, \v, \f, \n, U+0085, U+2028 and U+2029.

To match C/C++ /*...*/ multi-line comments:

ug '/\*(.*\n)*?.*\*+\/' myfile.cpp

To match C/C++ comments using the predefined c/comments patterns with -f c/comments, restricted to the matching part only with option -o:

ug -of c/comments myfile.cpp

Same as sed -n '/begin/,/end/p': to match all lines between a line containing begin and the first line after that containing end, using lazy repetition:

ug -o '.*begin(.|\n)*?end.*' myfile.txt

🔝 Back to table of contents

Displaying match context with -A, -B, -C, -y, and --width

-A NUM, --after-context=NUM
        Output NUM lines of trailing context after matching lines.  Places
        a --group-separator between contiguous groups of matches.  If -o is
        specified, output the match with context to fit NUM columns after
        the match or shortens the match.  See also options -B, -C and -y.
-B NUM, --before-context=NUM
        Output NUM lines of leading context before matching lines.  Places
        a --group-separator between contiguous groups of matches.  If -o is
        specified, output the match with context to fit NUM columns before
        the match or shortens the match.  See also options -A, -C and -y.
-C NUM, --context=NUM
        Output NUM lines of leading and trailing context surrounding each
        matching line.  Places a --group-separator between contiguous
        groups of matches.  If -o is specified, output the match with
        context to fit NUM columns before and after the match or shortens
        the match.  See also options -A, -B and -y.
-y, --any-line
        Any line is output (passthru).  Non-matching lines are output as
        context with a `-' separator.  See also options -A, -B, and -C.
--width[=NUM]
        Truncate the output to NUM visible characters per line.  The width
        of the terminal window is used if NUM is not specified.  Note that
        double wide characters in the output may result in wider lines.
-o, --only-matching
        Output only the matching part of lines.  If -A, -B or -C is
        specified, fits the match and its context on a line within the
        specified number of columns.

To display two lines of context before and after a matching line:

ug -C2 'FIXME' myfile.cpp

To show three lines of context after a matched line:

ug -A3 'FIXME.*' myfile.cpp:

To display one line of context before each matching line with a C function definition (C names are non-Unicode):

ug -B1 -f c/functions myfile.c

To display one line of context before each matching line with a C++ function definition (C++ names may be Unicode):

ug -B1 -f c++/functions myfile.cpp

To display any non-matching lines as context for matching lines with -y:

ug -y -f c++/functions myfile.cpp

To display a hexdump of a matching line with one line of hexdump context:

ug -C1 -UX '\xaa\xbb\xcc' a.out

Context within a line is displayed with option -o with a context option:

ug -o -C20 'pattern' myfile.cpp

Same, but with pretty output with headings, line numbers and column numbers (-k) and showing context:

ug --pretty -oC20 'pattern' myfile.cpp

🔝 Back to table of contents

Searching source code using -f, -g, -O, and -t

-f FILE, --file=FILE
        Read newline-separated patterns from FILE.  White space in patterns
        is significant.  Empty lines in FILE are ignored.  If FILE does not
        exist, the GREP_PATH environment variable is used as path to FILE.
        If that fails, looks for FILE in /usr/local/share/ugrep/pattern.
        When FILE is a `-', standard input is read.  This option may be
        repeated.
--ignore-files[=FILE]
        Ignore files and directories matching the globs in each FILE that
        is encountered in recursive searches.  The default FILE is
        `.gitignore'.  Matching files and directories located in the
        directory of the FILE and in subdirectories below are ignored.
        Globbing syntax is the same as the --exclude-from=FILE gitignore
        syntax, but files and directories are excluded instead of only
        files.  Directories are specifically excluded when the glob ends in
        a `/'.  Files and directories explicitly specified as command line
        arguments are never ignored.  This option may be repeated to
        specify additional files.
-g GLOBS, --glob=GLOBS
        Search only files whose name matches the specified comma-separated
        list of GLOBS, same as --include='glob' for each `glob' in GLOBS.
        When a `glob' is preceded by a `!' or a `^', skip files whose name
        matches `glob', same as --exclude='glob'.  When `glob' contains a
        `/', full pathnames are matched.  Otherwise basenames are matched.
        When `glob' ends with a `/', directories are matched, same as
        --include-dir='glob' and --exclude-dir='glob'.  A leading `/'
        matches the working directory.  This option may be repeated and may
        be combined with options -M, -O and -t to expand searches.  See
        `ugrep --help globs' and `man ugrep' section GLOBBING for details.
-O EXTENSIONS, --file-extension=EXTENSIONS
        Search only files whose filename extensions match the specified
        comma-separated list of EXTENSIONS, same as --include='*.ext' for
        each `ext' in EXTENSIONS.  When `ext' is preceded by a `!' or a
        `^', skip files whose filename extensions matches `ext', same as
        --exclude='*.ext'.  This option may be repeated and may be combined
        with options -g, -M and -t to expand the recursive search.
-t TYPES, --file-type=TYPES
        Search only files associated with TYPES, a comma-separated list of
        file types.  Each file type corresponds to a set of filename
        extensions passed to option -O and filenames passed to option -g.
        For capitalized file types, the search is expanded to include files
        with matching file signature magic bytes, as if passed to option
        -M.  When a type is preceded by a `!' or a `^', excludes files of
        the specified type.  This option may be repeated.
--stats
        Output statistics on the number of files and directories searched,
        and the inclusion and exclusion constraints applied.

The file types are listed with ugrep -tlist. The list is based on established filename extensions and "magic bytes". If you have a file type that is not listed, use options -O and/or -M. You may want to define an alias, e.g. alias ugft='ugrep -Oft' as a shorthand to search files with filename suffix .ft.

To recursively display function definitions in C/C++ files (.h, .hpp, .c, .cpp etc.) with line numbers with -tc++, -o, -n, and -f c++/functions:

ug -on -tc++ -f c++/functions

To recursively display function definitions in .c and .cpp files with line numbers with -Oc,cpp, -o, -n, and -f c++/functions:

ug -on -Oc,cpp -f c++/functions

To recursively list all shell files with -tShell to match filename extensions and files with shell shebangs, except files with suffix .sh:

ug -l -tShell -O^sh ''

To recursively list all non-shell files with -t^Shell:

ug -l -t^Shell ''

To recursively list all shell files with shell shebangs that have no shell filename extensions:

ug -l -tShell -t^shell ''

To search for lines with FIXME in C/C++ comments, excluding FIXME in multi-line strings:

ug -n 'FIXME' -f c++/zap_strings myfile.cpp

To read patterns TODO and FIXME from standard input to match lines in the input, while excluding matches in C++ strings:

ug -on -f - -f c++/zap_strings myfile.cpp <<END
TODO
FIXME
END

To display XML element and attribute tags in an XML file, restricted to the matching part with -o, excluding tags that are placed in (multi-line) comments:

ug -o -f xml/tags -f xml/zap_comments myfile.xml

🔝 Back to table of contents

Searching compressed files and archives with -z

-z, --decompress
        Search compressed files and archives.  Archives (.cpio, .pax, .tar)
        and compressed archives (e.g. .zip, .7z, .taz, .tgz, .tpz, .tbz,
        .tbz2, .tb2, .tz2, .tlz, .txz, .tzst) are searched and matching
        pathnames of files in archives are output in braces.  When used
        with option --zmax=NUM, searches the contents of compressed files
        and archives stored within archives up to NUM levels.  If -g, -O,
        -M, or -t is specified, searches files stored in archives whose
        filenames match globs, match filename extensions, match file
        signature magic bytes, or match file types, respectively.
        Supported compression formats: gzip (.gz), compress (.Z), zip, 7z,
        bzip2 (requires suffix .bz, .bz2, .bzip2, .tbz, .tbz2, .tb2, .tz2),
        lzma and xz (requires suffix .lzma, .tlz, .xz, .txz),
        lz4 (requires suffix .lz4),
        zstd (requires suffix .zst, .zstd, .tzst),
        brotli (requires suffix .br),
        bzip3 (requires suffix .bz3).
--zmax=NUM
        When used with option -z (--decompress), searches the contents of
        compressed files and archives stored within archives by up to NUM
        expansion stages.  The default --zmax=1 only permits searching
        uncompressed files stored in cpio, pax, tar, zip and 7z archives;
        compressed files and archives are detected as binary files and are
        effectively ignored.  Specify --zmax=2 to search compressed files
        and archives stored in cpio, pax, tar, zip and 7z archives.  NUM
        may range from 1 to 99 for up to 99 decompression and de-archiving
        steps.  Increasing NUM values gradually degrades performance.

Files compressed with gzip (.gz), compress (.Z), bzip2 (.bz, .bz2, .bzip2), lzma (.lzma), xz (.xz), lz4 (.lz4), zstd (.zst, .zstd), brotli (.br) and bzip3 (.bz3) are searched with option -z when the corresponding libraries are installed and compiled with ugrep. This option does not require files to be compressed. Uncompressed files are searched also, although slower.

Other compression formats can be searched with ugrep filters.

Archives (cpio, jar, pax, tar, zip and 7z) are searched with option -z. Regular files in an archive that match are output with the archive pathnames enclosed in { and } braces. Supported tar formats are v7, ustar, gnu, oldgnu, and pax. Supported cpio formats are odc, newc, and crc. Not supported is the obsolete non-portable old binary cpio format. Archive formats cpio, tar, and pax are automatically recognized with option -z based on their content, independent of their filename suffix.

By default, uncompressed archives stored within zip archives are also searched: all cpio, pax, and tar files stored in zip and 7z archives are automatically recognized and searched. However, by default, compressed files stored within archives are not recognized, e.g. zip files stored within tar files are not searched but rather all compressed files and archives are searched as if they are binary files without decompressing them.

Specify --zmax=NUM to search archives that contain compressed files and archives for up to NUM levels deep. The value of NUM may range from 1 to 99 for up to 99 decompression and de-archiving steps to expand up to 99 nested archives. Larger --zmax=NUM values degrade performance. It is unlikely you will ever need 99 as --zmax=2 suffices for most practical use cases, such as searching zip files stored in tar files.

When option -z is used with options -g, -O, -M, or -t, archives and compressed and uncompressed files that match the filename selection criteria (glob, extension, magic bytes, or file type) are searched only. For example, ugrep -r -z -tc++ searches C++ files such as main.cpp and zip and tar archives that contain C++ files such as main.cpp. Also included in the search are compressed C++ files such as main.cpp.gz and main.cpp.xz when present. Also any cpio, pax, tar, zip and 7z archives when present are searched for C++ files that they contain, such as main.cpp. Use option --stats to see a list of the glob patterns applied to filter file pathnames in the recursive search and when searching archive contents.

When option -z is used with options -g, -O, -M, or -t to search cpio, jar, pax, tar, zip and 7z archives, archived files that match the filename selection criteria are searched only.

The gzip, compress, and zip formats are automatically detected, which is useful when reading gzip-compressed data from standard input, e.g. input redirected from a pipe. Other compression formats require a filename suffix: .bz, .bz2, or .bzip2 for bzip2, .lzma for lzma, .xz for xz, .lz4 for lz4, .zst or .zstd for zstd, .br for brotli and .bz3 for bzip3. Also the compressed tar archive shorthands .taz, .tgz and .tpz for gzip, .tbz, .tbz2, .tb2, and .tz2 for bzip2, .tlz for lzma, .txz for xz, and .tzst for zstd are recognized. To search these formats with ugrep from standard input, use option --label='stdin.bz2' for bzip2, --label='stdin.lzma' for lzma, --label='stdin.xz' for xz, --label='stdin.lz4 for lz4 and --label='stdin.zst for zstd and so on. The name stdin is arbitrary and may be omitted:

format	filename suffix	tar/pax archive short suffix	suffix required?	ugrep from stdin	library
gzip	`.gz`	`.taz`, `.tgz`, `.tpz`	no	automatic	libz
compress	`.Z`	`.taZ`, `.tZ`	no	automatic	built-in
zip	`.zip`, `.zipx`, `.ZIP`		no	automatic	libz
7zip	`.7z`		yes	`--label=.7z`	built-in
bzip2	`.bz`, `.bz2`, `.bzip2`	`.tb2`, `.tbz`, `.tbz2`, `.tz2`	yes	`--label=.bz2`	libbz2
lzma	`.lzma`	`.tlz`	yes	`--label=.lzma`	liblzma
xz	`.xz`	`.txz`	yes	`--label=.xz`	liblzma
lz4	`.lz4`		yes	`--label=.lz4`	liblz4
zstd	`.zst`, `.zstd`	`.tzst`	yes	`--label=.zst`	libzstd
brotli	`.br`		yes	`--label=.br`	libbrotlidec
bzip3	`.bz3`		yes	`--label=.bz3`	libbzip3

The gzip, bzip2, xz, lz4 and zstd formats support concatenated compressed files. Concatenated compressed files are searched as one single file.

Supported zip compression methods are stored (0), deflate (8), bzip2 (12), lzma (14), xz (95) and zstd (93). The bzip2, lzma, xz and zstd methods require ugrep to be compiled with the corresponding compression libraries.

Searching encrypted zip archives is not supported (perhaps in future releases, depending on requests for enhancements).

Searching 7zip archives takes a lot more RAM and more time compared to other methods. The 7zip LZMA SDK implementation does not support streaming, requiring a physical seekable 7z file. This means that 7z files cannot be searched when nested within archives. Best is to avoid 7zip. Support for 7zip can be disabled with ./build.sh --disable-7zip to build ugrep.

Option -z uses threads for task parallelism to speed up searching larger files by running the decompressor concurrently with a search of the decompressed stream.

To list all non-empty files stored in a package.zip archive, including the contents of all cpio, pax, tar, zip and 7z files that are stored in it:

ug --zmax=2 -z -l '' package.zip

Same, but only list the Python source code files, including scripts that invoke Python, with option -tPython (ugrep -tlist for details):

ug --zmax=2 -z -l -tPython '' package.zip

To search Python applications distributed as a tar file with their dependencies includes as wheels (zip files with Python code), searching for the word my_class in app.tgz:

ug --zmax=2 -z -tPython -w my_class app.tgz

To recursively search C++ files including compressed files for the word my_function, while skipping C and C++ comments:

ug -z -r -tc++ -Fw my_function -f cpp/zap_comments

To search bzip2, lzma, xz, lz4 and zstd compressed data on standard input, option --label may be used to specify the extension corresponding to the compression format to force decompression when the bzip2 extension is not available to ugrep, for example:

cat myfile.bz2 | ugrep -z --label='stdin.bz2' 'xyz'

To search file main.cpp in project.zip for TODO and FIXME lines:

ug -z -g main.cpp -w -e 'TODO' -e 'FIXME' project.zip

To search tarball project.tar.gz for C++ files with TODO and FIXME lines:

ug -z -tc++ -w -e 'TODO' -e 'FIXME' project.tar.gz

To search files matching the glob *.txt in project.zip for the word license in any case (note that the -g glob argument must be quoted):

ug -z -g '*.txt' -w -i 'license' project.zip

To display and page through all C++ files in tarball project.tgz:

ug --pager -z -tc++ '' project.tgz

To list the files matching the gitignore-style glob /**/projects/project1.* in projects.tgz, by selecting files containing in the archive the text December 12:

ug -z -l -g '/**/projects/project1.*' -F 'December 12' projects.tgz

To view the META-INF/MANIFEST.MF data in a jar file with -Ojar and -OMF to select the jar file and the MF file therein (-Ojar is required, otherwise the jar file will be skipped though we could read it from standard input instead):

ug -z -h -OMF,jar '' my.jar

To extract C++ files that contain FIXME from project.tgz, we use -m1 with --format="'%z '" to generate a space-separated list of pathnames of file located in the archive that match the word FIXME:

tar xzf project.tgz `ugrep -z -l -tc++ --format='%z ' -w FIXME project.tgz`

To perform a depth-first search with find, then use cpio and ugrep to search the files:

find . -depth -print | cpio -o | ugrep -z 'xyz'

🔝 Back to table of contents

Find files by file signature and shebang "magic bytes" with -M, -O and -t

--ignore-files[=FILE]
        Ignore files and directories matching the globs in each FILE that
        is encountered in recursive searches.  The default FILE is
        `.gitignore'.  Matching files and directories located in the
        directory of the FILE and in subdirectories below are ignored.
        Globbing syntax is the same as the --exclude-from=FILE gitignore
        syntax, but files and directories are excluded instead of only
        files.  Directories are specifically excluded when the glob ends in
        a `/'.  Files and directories explicitly specified as command line
        arguments are never ignored.  This option may be repeated to
        specify additional files.
-M MAGIC, --file-magic=MAGIC
        Only files matching the signature pattern MAGIC are searched.  The
        signature \"magic bytes\" at the start of a file are compared to
        the MAGIC regex pattern.  When matching, the file will be searched.
        When MAGIC is preceded by a `!' or a `^', skip files with matching
        MAGIC signatures.  This option may be repeated and may be combined
        with options -O and -t to expand the search.  Every file on the
        search path is read, making searches potentially more expensive.
-O EXTENSIONS, --file-extension=EXTENSIONS
        Search only files whose filename extensions match the specified
        comma-separated list of EXTENSIONS, same as --include='*.ext' for
        each `ext' in EXTENSIONS.  When `ext' is preceded by a `!' or a
        `^', skip files whose filename extensions matches `ext', same as
        --exclude='*.ext'.  This option may be repeated and may be combined
        with options -g, -M and -t to expand the recursive search.
-t TYPES, --file-type=TYPES
        Search only files associated with TYPES, a comma-separated list of
        file types.  Each file type corresponds to a set of filename
        extensions passed to option -O and filenames passed to option -g.
        For capitalized file types, the search is expanded to include files
        with matching file signature magic bytes, as if passed to option
        -M.  When a type is preceded by a `!' or a `^', excludes files of
        the specified type.  This option may be repeated.
-g GLOBS, --glob=GLOBS
        Search only files whose name matches the specified comma-separated
        list of GLOBS, same as --include='glob' for each `glob' in GLOBS.
        When a `glob' is preceded by a `!' or a `^', skip files whose name
        matches `glob', same as --exclude='glob'.  When `glob' contains a
        `/', full pathnames are matched.  Otherwise basenames are matched.
        When `glob' ends with a `/', directories are matched, same as
        --include-dir='glob' and --exclude-dir='glob'.  A leading `/'
        matches the working directory.  This option may be repeated and may
        be combined with options -M, -O and -t to expand searches.  See
        `ugrep --help globs' and `man ugrep' section GLOBBING for details.
--stats
        Output statistics on the number of files and directories searched,
        and the inclusion and exclusion constraints applied.

To recursively list all files that start with #! shebangs:

ug -l -M'#!' ''

To recursively list all files that start with # but not with #! shebangs:

ug -l -M'#' -M'^#!' ''

To recursively list all Python files (extension .py or a shebang) with -tPython:

ug -l -tPython ''

To recursively list all non-shell files with -t^Shell:

ug -l -t^Shell ''

To recursively list Python files (extension .py or a shebang) that have import statements, including hidden files with -.:

ug -l. -tPython -f python/imports

🔝 Back to table of contents

Fuzzy search with -Z

-Z[best][+-~][MAX], --fuzzy=[best][+-~][MAX]
        Fuzzy mode: report approximate pattern matches within MAX errors.
        The default is -Z1: one deletion, insertion or substitution is
        allowed.  If `+`, `-' and/or `~' is specified, then `+' allows
        insertions, `-' allows deletions and `~' allows substitutions.  For
        example, -Z+~3 allows up to three insertions or substitutions, but
        no deletions.  If `best' is specified, then only the best matching
        lines are output with the lowest cost per file.  Option -Zbest
        requires two passes over a file and cannot be used with standard
        input or Boolean queries.  Option --sort=best orders matching files
        by best match.  The first character of an approximate match always
        matches a character at the beginning of the pattern.  To fuzzy
        match the first character, replace it with a `.' or `.?'.  Option
        -U applies fuzzy matching to ASCII and bytes instead of Unicode
        text.  No whitespace may be given between -Z and its argument.

The beginning of a pattern always matches the first character of an approximate match as a practical strategy to prevent many false "randomized" matches for short patterns. This also greatly improves search speed. Make the first character optional to optionally match it, e.g. p?attern or use a dot as the start of the pattern to match any wide character (but this is slow).

Line feed (\n) and NUL (\0) characters are never deleted or substituted to ensure that fuzzy matches do not extend the pattern match beyond the number of lines specified by the regex pattern.

Option -U (--ascii or --binary) restricts fuzzy matches to ASCII and binary only with edit distances measured in bytes. Otherwise, fuzzy pattern matching is performed with Unicode patterns and edit distances are measured in Unicode characters.

Option --sort=best orders files by best match. Files with at least one exact match anywhere in the file are shown first, followed by files with approximate matches in increasing minimal edit distance order. That is, ordered by the minimum error (edit distance) found among all approximate matches per file.

To recursively search for approximate matches of the word foobar with -Z, i.e. approximate matching with one error, e.g. Foobar, foo_bar, foo bar, fobar and other forms with one missing, one extra or one deleted character:

ug -Z 'foobar'

Same, but matching words only with -w and ignoring case with -i:

ug -Z -wi 'foobar'

Same, but permit up to 2 insertions with -Z+2, no deletions/substitutions (matches up to 2 extra characters, such as foos bar), insertions-only offers the fastest fuzzy matching method:

ug -Z+3 -wi 'foobar'

Same, but sort matches from best (at least one exact match or fewest fuzzy match errors) to worst:

ug -Z+3 -wi --sort=best 'foobar'

Note: because sorting by best match requires two passes over the input files, the efficiency of concurrent searching is significantly reduced.

Same, but with customized formatting to show the edit distance "cost" of the approximate matches with format field %Z and %F to show the pathname:

ug -Z+3 -wi --format='%F%Z:%O%~' --sort=best 'foobar'

Same, but this time count the matches with option -c and display them with a custom format using %m, where %Z is the average cost per match:

ug -c -Z+3 -wi --format='%F%Z:%m%~' --sort=best 'foobar'

Note: options -c and -l do not report a meaningful %Z value in the --format output, because %Z is the edit distance cost of a single match.

🔝 Back to table of contents

Search hidden files with -.

--hidden, -.
        Search hidden files and directories.

To recursively search the working directory, including hidden files and directories, for the word login in shell scripts:

ug -. -tShell 'login'

🔝 Back to table of contents

Using filter utilities to search documents with --filter

--filter=COMMANDS
        Filter files through the specified COMMANDS first before searching.
        COMMANDS is a comma-separated list of `exts:command [option ...]',
        where `exts' is a comma-separated list of filename extensions and
        `command' is a filter utility.  Files matching one of `exts' are
        filtered.  When `exts' is a `*', all files are filtered.  One or
        more `option' separated by spacing may be specified, which are
        passed verbatim to the command.  A `%' as `option' expands into the
        pathname to search.  For example, --filter='pdf:pdftotext % -'
        searches PDF files.  The `%' expands into a `-' when searching
        standard input.  When a `%' is not specified, a filter utility
        should read from standard input and write to standard output.
        Option --label=.ext may be used to specify extension `ext' when
        searching standard input.  This option may be repeated.
--filter-magic-label=LABEL:MAGIC
        Associate LABEL with files whose signature "magic bytes" match the
        MAGIC regex pattern.  Only files that have no filename extension
        are labeled, unless +LABEL is specified.  When LABEL matches an
        extension specified in --filter=COMMANDS, the corresponding command
        is invoked.  This option may be repeated.

The --filter option associates one or more filter utilities with specific filename extensions. A filter utility is selected based on the filename extension and executed by forking a process: the utility's standard input reads the open input file and the utility's standard output is searched. When a % is specified as an option to the utility, the % is expanded to the pathname of the file to open and read by the utility.

When a specified utility is not found on the system, an error message is displayed. When a utility fails to produce output, e.g. when the specified options for the utility are invalid, the search is silently skipped.

Filtering does not apply to files stored in archives and compressed files. A filter is usually applied to a file that is physically stored in the file system. Archived files are not physically stored.

Common filter utilities are cat (concat, pass through), head (select first lines or bytes) tr (translate), iconv and uconv (convert), and more advanced utilities, such as:

pdftotext to convert pdf to text
antiword to convert doc to text
pandoc to convert .docx, .epub, and other document formats
exiftool to read meta information embedded in image and video media formats.
soffice to convert office documents
csvkit to convert spreadsheets
openssl to convert certificates and key files to text and other formats

The ugrep+ and ug+ commands use the pdftotext, antiword, pandoc and exiftool filters, when installed, to search pdfs, documents, e-books, and image metadata.

Also decompressors may be used as filter utilities, such as unzip, gunzip, bunzip2, unlzma, unxz, lzop and 7z that decompress files to standard output when option --stdout is specified. For example:

ug --filter='lzo:lzop -d --stdout -' ...
ug --filter='gz:gunzip -d --stdout -' ...
ug --filter='7z:7z x -so %' ...

The --filter='lzo:lzop -d --stdout -' option decompresses files with extension lzo to standard output with --stdout with the compressed stream being read from standard input with -. The --filter='7z:7z x -so -si option decompresses files with extension 7z to standard output -so while reading standard input -si with the compressed file contents.

Note that ugrep option -z is typically faster to search compressed files compared to --filter.

The --filter option may also be used to run a user-defined shell script to filter files. For example, to invoke an action depending on the filename extension of the % argument. Another use case is to pass a file to more than one filter, which can be accomplished with a shell script containing the line tool1 $1; tool2 $1. This filters the file argument $1 with tool1 followed by tool2 to produce combined output to search for pattern matches. Likewise, we can use a script with the line tool1 $1 | tool2 to stack two filters tool1 and tool2.

The --filter option may also be used as a predicate to skip certain files from the search. As the most basic example, consider the false utility that exits with a nonzero exit code without reading input or producing output. Therefore, --filter='swp: false' skips all .swp files from recursive searches. The same can be done more efficiently with -O^swp. However, the --filter option could invoke a script that determines if the filename passed as a % argument meets certain constraints. If the constraint is met the script copies standard input to standard output with cat. If not, the script exits.

Warning: option --filter should not be used with utilities that modify files. Otherwise searches may be unpredicatable. In the worst case files may be lost, for example when the specified utility replaces or deletes the file passed to the command with --filter option %.

To recursively search files including PDF files in the working directory without recursing into subdirectories (with -1), for matches of drink me using the pdftotext filter to convert PDF to text without preserving page breaks:

ug -r -1 --filter='pdf:pdftotext -nopgbrk % -' 'drink me'

To recursively search text files for eat me while converting non-printable characters in .txt and .md files using the cat -v filter:

ug -r -ttext --filter='txt,md:cat -v' 'eat me'

The same, but specifying the .txt and .md filters separately:

ug -r -ttext --filter='txt:cat -v, md:cat -v' 'eat me'

To search the first 8K of a text file:

ug --filter='txt:head -c 8192' 'eat me' wonderland.txt

To recursively search and list the files that contain the word Alice, including .docx and .epub documents using the pandoc filter:

ug -rl -w --filter='docx,epub:pandoc --wrap=preserve -t plain % -o -' 'Alice'

Important: the pandoc utility requires an input file and will not read standard input. Option % expands into the full pathname of the file to search. The output format specified is markdown, which is close enough to text to be searched.

To recursively search and list the files that contain the word Alice, including .odt, .doc, .docx, .rtf, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx documents using the soffice filter:

ug -rl -w --filter='odt,doc,docx,rtf,xls,xlsx,ppt,pptx:soffice --headless --cat %' 'Alice'

Important: the soffice utility will not output any text when one or more LibreOffice GUIs are open. Make sure to quit all LibreOffice apps first. This looks like a bug, but the LibreOffice developers do not appear to fix this any time soon (unless perhaps more people complain?). You can work around this problem by specifying a specific user profile for soffice with the following semi-documented argument passed to soffice: -env:UserInstallation=file:///home/user/.libreoffice-alt.

To recursively search and display rows of .csv, .xls, and .xlsx spreadsheets that contain 10/6 using the in2csv filter of csvkit:

ug -r -Ocsv,xls,xlsx --filter='xls,xlsx:in2csv %' '10/6'

To search .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx files converted to XML for a match with 10/6 using unzip as a filter:

ug -lr -Odocx,xlsx,pptx --filter='docx,xlsx,pptx:unzip -p %' '10/6'

Important: unzipping docx, xlxs, pptx files produces extensive XML output containing meta information and binary data such as images. By contrast, ugrep option -z with -Oxml selects the XML components only:

ug -z -lr -Odocx,xlsx,pptx,xml '10/6'

Note: docx, xlsx, and pptx are zip files containing multiple components. When selecting the XML components with option -Oxml in docx, xlsx, and pptx documents, we should also specify -Odocx,xlsx,pptx to search these type of files, otherwise these files will be ignored.

To recurssively search X509 certificate files for lines with Not After (e.g. to find expired certificates), using openssl as a filter:

ug -r 'Not After' -Ocer,der,pem --filter='pem:openssl x509 -text,cer,crt,der:openssl x509 -text -inform der'

Note that openssl warning messages are displayed on standard error. If a file cannot be converted it is probably in a different format. This can be resolved by writing a shell script that executes openssl with options based on the file content. Then write a script with ugrep --filter.

To search PNG files by filename extension with -tpng using exiftool:

ug -r -i 'copyright' -tpng --filter='*:exiftool %'

Same, but also include files matching PNG "magic bytes" with -tPng and --filter-magic-label='+png:\x89png\x0d\x0a\x1a\x0a' to select the png filter:

ug -r -i 'copyright' -tPng --filter='png:exiftool %' --filter-magic-label='+png:\x89png\x0d\x0a\x1a\x0a'

Note that +png overrides any filename extension match for --filter. Otherwise, without a +, the filename extension, when present, takes priority over labelled magic patterns to invoke the corresponding filter command. The LABEL used with --filter-magic-label and --filter has no specific meaning; any name or string that does not contain a : or , may be used.

🔝 Back to table of contents

Searching and displaying binary files with -U, -W, and -X

--hexdump[=[1-8][a][bch][A[NUM]][B[NUM]][C[NUM]]]
        Output matches in 1 to 8 columns of 8 hexadecimal octets.  The
        default is 2 columns or 16 octets per line.  Argument `a' outputs a
        `*' for all hex lines that are identical to the previous hex line,
        `b' removes all space breaks, `c' removes the character column, `h'
        removes hex spacing, `A' includes up to NUM hex lines after a
        match, `B' includes up to NUM hex lines before a match and `C'
        includes up to NUM hex lines before and after a match.  Arguments
        `A', `B' and `C' are the same as options -A, -B and -C when used
        with --hexdump.  See also options -U, -W and -X.
-U, --ascii, --binary
        Disables Unicode matching for binary file matching, forcing PATTERN
        to match bytes, not Unicode characters.  For example, -U '\xa3'
        matches byte A3 (hex) instead of the Unicode code point U+00A3
        represented by the UTF-8 sequence C2 A3.  See also --dotall.
-W, --with-hex
        Output binary matches in hexadecimal, leaving text matches alone.
        This option is equivalent to the --binary-files=with-hex option.
        To omit the matching line from the hex output, use both options -W
        and --hexdump.  See also options -U.
-X, --hex
        Output matches and matching lines in hexadecimal.  This option is
        equivalent to the --binary-files=hex option.  To omit the matching
        line from the hex output use option --hexdump.  See also option -U.
--dotall
        Dot `.' in regular expressions matches anything, including newline.
        Note that `.*' matches all input and should not be used.

Note that --hexdump differs from -X by omitting the matching line from the hex output, showing only the matching pattern using a minimal number of hex lines. Additional match context hex lines are output with the -ABC context options or with --hexdump=C3 to output 3 hex lines as context, for example.

To search a file for ASCII words, displaying text lines as usual while binary content is shown in hex with -U and -W:

ug -UW '\w+' myfile

To hexdump an entire file as a match with -X:

ug -X '' myfile

To hexdump an entire file with -X, displaying line numbers and byte offsets with -nb (here with -y to display all line numbers):

ug -Xynb '' myfile

To hexdump lines containing one or more \0 in a (binary) file using a non-Unicode pattern with -U and -X:

ug -UX '\x00+' myfile

Same, but hexdump the entire file as context with -y (note that this line-based option does not permit matching patterns with newlines):

ug -UX -y '\x00+' myfile

Same, compacted to 32 bytes per line without the character column:

ug -UX -y '\x00+' myfile

To match the binary pattern A3..A3. (hex) in a binary file without Unicode pattern matching (which would otherwise match \xaf as a Unicode character U+00A3 with UTF-8 byte sequence C2 A3) and display the results in compact hex with --hexdump with pager:

ug --pager --hexdump -U '\xa3[\x00-\xff]{2}\xa3[\x00-\xff]' a.out

Same, but using option --dotall to let . match any byte, including newline that is not matched by dot (the default as required by grep):

ug --dotall --pager --hexdump -U '\xa3.{2}\xa3.' a.out

To list all files containing a RPM signature, located in the rpm directory and recursively below (see for example list of file signatures):

ug -RlU '\A\xed\xab\xee\xdb' rpm

🔝 Back to table of contents

Ignore binary files with -I

-I      Ignore matches in binary files.  This option is equivalent to the
        --binary-files=without-match option.

To recursively search without following symlinks and ignoring binary files:

ug -rl -I 'xyz'

To ignore specific binary files with extensions such as .exe, .bin, .out, .a, use --exclude or --exclude-from:

ug -rl --exclude-from=ignore_binaries 'xyz'

where ignore_binaries is a file containing a glob on each line to ignore matching files, e.g. *.exe, *.bin, *.out, *.a. Because the command is quite long to type, an alias for this is recommended, for example ugs (ugrep source):

alias ugs="ugrep --exclude-from=~/ignore_binaries"
ugs -rl 'xyz'

🔝 Back to table of contents

Ignoring .gitignore-specified files with --ignore-files

--ignore-files[=FILE]
        Ignore files and directories matching the globs in each FILE that
        is encountered in recursive searches.  The default FILE is
        `.gitignore'.  Matching files and directories located in the
        directory of the FILE and in subdirectories below are ignored.
        Globbing syntax is the same as the --exclude-from=FILE gitignore
        syntax, but files and directories are excluded instead of only
        files.  Directories are specifically excluded when the glob ends in
        a `/'.  Files and directories explicitly specified as command line
        arguments are never ignored.  This option may be repeated to
        specify additional files.

Option --ignore-files looks for .gitignore, or the specified FILE, in recursive searches. When .gitignore, or the specified FILE, is found while traversing directory tree branches down, the .gitignore file is used to temporarily extend the previous exclusions with the additional globs in .gitignore to apply the combined exclusions to the directory tree rooted at the .gitignore location. Use --stats to show the selection criteria applied to the search results and the locations of each FILE found. To avoid confusion, files and directories specified as command-line arguments to ugrep are never ignored.

Note that exclude glob patterns take priority over include glob patterns when specified with command line options. By contrast, negated glob patterns specified with ! in --ignore-files files take priority. This effectively overrides the exclusions and resolves conflicts in favor of listing matching files that are explicitly specified as exceptions and should be included in the search.

See also Using gitignore-style globs to select directories and files to search.

To recursively search without following symlinks, while ignoring files and directories ignored by .gitignore (when present), use option --ignore-files. Note that -r is the default when no FILE arguments are specified, we use it here to make the examples easier to follow.

ug -rl --ignore-files 'xyz'

Same, but includes hidden files with -. rather than ignoring them:

ug -rl. --ignore-files 'xyz'

To recursively list all files that are not ignored by .gitignore (when present) with --ignore-files:

ug -rl --ignore-files ''

Same, but list shell scripts that are not ignored by .gitignore, when present:

ug -rl -tShell '' --ignore-files

To recursively list all files that are not ignored by .gitignore and are also not excluded by .git/info/exclude:

ug -rl '' --ignore-files --exclude-from=.git/info/exclude

Same, but by creating a symlink to .git/info/exclude to make the exclusions implicit:

ln -s .git/info/exclude .ignore
ug -rl '' --ignore-files --ignore-files=.ignore

🔝 Back to table of contents

Using gitignore-style globs to select directories and files to search

-g GLOBS, --glob=GLOBS
        Search only files whose name matches the specified comma-separated
        list of GLOBS, same as --include='glob' for each `glob' in GLOBS.
        When a `glob' is preceded by a `!' or a `^', skip files whose name
        matches `glob', same as --exclude='glob'.  When `glob' contains a
        `/', full pathnames are matched.  Otherwise basenames are matched.
        When `glob' ends with a `/', directories are matched, same as
        --include-dir='glob' and --exclude-dir='glob'.  A leading `/'
        matches the working directory.  This option may be repeated and may
        be combined with options -M, -O and -t to expand searches.  See
        `ugrep --help globs' and `man ugrep' section GLOBBING for details.
--exclude=GLOB
        Skip files whose name matches GLOB using wildcard matching, same as
        -g ^GLOB.  GLOB can use **, *, ?, and [...] as wildcards, and \\ to
        quote a wildcard or backslash character literally.  When GLOB
        contains a `/', full pathnames are matched.  Otherwise basenames
        are matched.  When GLOB ends with a `/', directories are excluded
        as if --exclude-dir is specified.  Otherwise files are excluded.
        Note that --exclude patterns take priority over --include patterns.
        GLOB should be quoted to prevent shell globbing.  This option may
        be repeated.
--exclude-dir=GLOB
        Exclude directories whose name matches GLOB from recursive
        searches, same as -g ^GLOB/.  GLOB can use **, *, ?, and [...] as
        wildcards, and \\ to quote a wildcard or backslash character
        literally.  When GLOB contains a `/', full pathnames are matched.
        Otherwise basenames are matched.  Note that --exclude-dir patterns
        take priority over --include-dir patterns.  GLOB should be quoted
        to prevent shell globbing.  This option may be repeated.
--exclude-from=FILE
        Read the globs from FILE and skip files and directories whose name
        matches one or more globs.  A glob can use **, *, ?, and [...] as
        wildcards, and \ to quote a wildcard or backslash character
        literally.  When a glob contains a `/', full pathnames are matched.
        Otherwise basenames are matched.  When a glob ends with a `/',
        directories are excluded as if --exclude-dir is specified.
        Otherwise files are excluded.  A glob starting with a `!' overrides
        previously-specified exclusions by including matching files.  Lines
        starting with a `#' and empty lines in FILE are ignored.  When FILE
        is a `-', standard input is read.  This option may be repeated.
--ignore-files[=FILE]
        Ignore files and directories matching the globs in each FILE that
        is encountered in recursive searches.  The default FILE is
        `.gitignore'.  Matching files and directories located in the
        directory of the FILE and in subdirectories below are ignored.
        Globbing syntax is the same as the --exclude-from=FILE gitignore
        syntax, but files and directories are excluded instead of only
        files.  Directories are specifically excluded when the glob ends in
        a `/'.  Files and directories explicitly specified as command line
        arguments are never ignored.  This option may be repeated to
        specify additional files.
--include=GLOB
        Search only files whose name matches GLOB using wildcard matching,
        same as -g GLOB.  GLOB can use **, *, ?, and [...] as wildcards,
        and \\ to quote a wildcard or backslash character literally.  When
        GLOB contains a `/', full pathnames are matched.  Otherwise
        basenames are matched.  When GLOB ends with a `/', directories are
        included as if --include-dir is specified.  Otherwise files are
        included.  Note that --exclude patterns take priority over
        --include patterns.  GLOB should be quoted to prevent shell
        globbing.  This option may be repeated.
--include-dir=GLOB
        Only directories whose name matches GLOB are included in recursive
        searches, same as -g GLOB/.  GLOB can use **, *, ?, and [...] as
        wildcards, and \\ to quote a wildcard or backslash character
        literally.  When GLOB contains a `/', full pathnames are matched.
        Otherwise basenames are matched.  Note that --exclude-dir patterns
        take priority over --include-dir patterns.  GLOB should be quoted
        to prevent shell globbing.  This option may be repeated.
--include-from=FILE
        Read the globs from FILE and search only files and directories
        whose name matches one or more globs.  A glob can use **, *, ?, and
        [...] as wildcards, and \ to quote a wildcard or backslash
        character literally.  When a glob contains a `/', full pathnames
        are matched.  Otherwise basenames are matched.  When a glob ends
        with a `/', directories are included as if --include-dir is
        specified.  Otherwise files are included.  A glob starting with a
        `!' overrides previously-specified inclusions by excluding matching
        files.  Lines starting with a `#' and empty lines in FILE are
        ignored.  When FILE is a `-', standard input is read.  This option
        may be repeated.
-O EXTENSIONS, --file-extension=EXTENSIONS
        Search only files whose filename extensions match the specified
        comma-separated list of EXTENSIONS, same as --include='*.ext' for
        each `ext' in EXTENSIONS.  When `ext' is preceded by a `!' or a
        `^', skip files whose filename extensions matches `ext', same as
        --exclude='*.ext'.  This option may be repeated and may be combined
        with options -g, -M and -t to expand the recursive search.
--stats
        Output statistics on the number of files and directories searched,
        and the inclusion and exclusion constraints applied.

See also Including or excluding mounted file systems from searches.

Gitignore-style glob syntax and conventions:

pattern	matches
`*`	anything except `/`
`?`	any one character except `/`
`[abc-e]`	one character `a`,`b`,`c`,`d`,`e`
`[^abc-e]`	one character not `a`,`b`,`c`,`d`,`e`,`/`
`[!abc-e]`	one character not `a`,`b`,`c`,`d`,`e`,`/`
`/`	when used at the start of a glob, matches working directory
`**/`	zero or more directories
`/**`	when at the end of a glob, matches everything after the `/`
`\?`	a `?` or any other character specified after the backslash

When a glob pattern contains a path separator /, the full pathname is matched. Otherwise the basename of a file or directory is matched in recursive searches. For example, *.h matches foo.h and bar/foo.h. bar/*.h matches bar/foo.h but not foo.h and not bar/bar/foo.h.

When a glob pattern begins with a /, files and directories are matched at the working directory, not recursively. For example, use a leading / to force /*.h to match foo.h but not bar/foo.h.

When a glob pattern ends with a /, directories are matched instead of files, same as --include-dir.

When a glob starts with a ! as specified with -g!GLOB, or specified in a FILE with --include-from=FILE or --exclude-from=FILE, it is negated.

To view a list of inclusions and exclusions that were applied to a search, use option --stats.

To list only readable files with names starting with foo in the working directory, that contain xyz, without producing warning messages with -s and -l:

ug -sl 'xyz' foo*

The same, but using deep recursion with inclusion constraints (note that -g'/foo* is the same as --include='/foo*' and -g'/foo*/' is the same as --include-dir='/foo*', i.e. immediate subdirectories matching /foo* only):

ug -rl 'xyz' -g'/foo*' -g'/foo*/'

Note that -r is the default, we use it here to make the examples easier to follow.

To exclude directory bak located in the working directory:

ug -rl 'xyz' -g'^/bak/'

To exclude all directoies bak at any directory level deep:

ug -rl 'xyz' -g'^bak/'

To only list files in the working directory and its subdirectory doc, that contain xyz (note that -g'/doc/' is the same as --include-dir='/doc', i.e. immediate subdirectory doc only):

ug -rl 'xyz' -g'/doc/'

To only list files that are on a subdirectory path doc that includes subdirectory html anywhere, that contain xyz:

ug -rl 'xyz' -g'doc/**/html/'

To only list files in the working directory and in the subdirectories doc and doc/latest but not below, that contain xyz:

ug -rl 'xyz' -g'/doc/' -g'/doc/latest/'

To recursively list .cpp files in the working directory and any subdirectory at any depth, that contain xyz:

ug -rl 'xyz' -g'*.cpp'

The same, but using a .gitignore-style glob that matches pathnames (globs with /) instead of matching basenames (globs without /) in the recursive search:

ug -rl 'xyz' -g'**/*.cpp'

Same, but using option -Ocpp to match file name extensions:

ug -rl -Ocpp 'xyz'

To recursively list all files in the working directory and below that are not ignored by a specific .gitignore file:

ug -rl '' --exclude-from=.gitignore

To recursively list all files in the working directory and below that are not ignored by one or more .gitignore files, when any are present:

ug -rl '' --ignore-files

🔝 Back to table of contents

Including or excluding mounted file systems from searches

--exclude-fs=MOUNTS
        Exclude file systems specified by MOUNTS from recursive searches.
        MOUNTS is a comma-separated list of mount points or pathnames to
        directories.  When MOUNTS is not specified, only descends into the
        file systems associated with the specified file and directory
        search targets, i.e. excludes all other file systems.  Note that
        --exclude-fs=MOUNTS take priority over --include-fs=MOUNTS.  This
        option may be repeated.
--include-fs=MOUNTS
        Only file systems specified by MOUNTS are included in recursive
        searches.  MOUNTS is a comma-separated list of mount points or
        pathnames to directories.  When MOUNTS is not specified, restricts
        recursive searches to the file system of the working directory,
        same as --include-fs=. (dot). Note that --exclude-fs=MOUNTS take
        priority over --include-fs=MOUNTS.  This option may be repeated.

These options control recursive searches across file systems by comparing device numbers. Mounted devices and symbolic links to files and directories located on mounted file systems may be included or excluded from recursive searches by specifying a mount point or a pathname of any directory on the file system to specify the applicable file system.

Note that a list of mounted file systems is typically stored in /etc/mtab.

To restrict recursive searches to the file system(s) of the search targets only, without crossing into other file systems (similar to find option -x):

ug -rl --exclude-fs 'xyz' /sys /var

To restrict recursive searches to the file system of the working directory only, without crossing into other file systems:

ug -l --include-fs 'xyz'

In fact, for this case we can use --exclude-fs because we search the working directory as the target and we want to exclude all other file systems:

ug -l --exclude-fs 'xyz'

To exclude the file systems mounted at /dev and /proc from recursive searches:

ug -l --exclude-fs=/dev,/proc 'xyz'

To only include the file system associated with drive d: in recursive searches:

ug -l --include-fs=d:/ 'xyz'

To exclude fuse and tmpfs type file systems from recursive searches:

exfs=`ugrep -w -e fuse -e tmpfs /etc/mtab | ugrep -P '^\S+ (\S+)' --format='%,%1'`
ug -l --exclude-fs="$exfs" 'xyz'

🔝 Back to table of contents

Counting the number of matches with -c and -co

-c, --count
        Only a count of selected lines is written to standard output.
        If -o or -u is specified, counts the number of patterns matched.
        If -v is specified, counts the number of non-matching lines.  If
        -m1, (with a comma or --min-count=1) is specified, counts only
        matching files without outputting zero matches.

To count the number of lines in a file:

ug -c '' myfile.txt

To count the number of lines with TODO:

ug -c -w 'TODO' myfile.cpp

To count the total number of TODO in a file, use -c and -o:

ug -co -w 'TODO' myfile.cpp

To count the number of ASCII words in a file:

ug -co '[[:word:]]+' myfile.txt

To count the number of ASCII and Unicode words in a file:

ug -co '\w+' myfile.txt

To count the number of Unicode characters in a file:

ug -co '\p{Unicode}' myfile.txt

To count the number of zero bytes in a file:

ug -UX -co '\x00' image.jpg

🔝 Back to table of contents

Displaying file, line, column, and byte offset info with -H, -n, -k, -b, and -T

-b, --byte-offset
        The offset in bytes of a matched line is displayed in front of the
        respective matched line.  When used with option -u, displays the
        offset in bytes of each pattern matched.  Byte offsets are exact
        for ASCII, UTF-8, and raw binary input.  Otherwise, the byte offset
        in the UTF-8 converted input is displayed.
-H, --with-filename
        Always print the filename with output lines.  This is the default
        when there is more than one file to search.
-k, --column-number
        The column number of a matched pattern is displayed in front of the
        respective matched line, starting at column 1.  Tabs are expanded
        when columns are counted, see option --tabs.
-n, --line-number
        Each output line is preceded by its relative line number in the
        file, starting at line 1.  The line number counter is reset for
        each file processed.
-T, --initial-tab
        Add a tab space to separate the file name, line number, column
        number, and byte offset with the matched line.

To display the file name -H, line -n, and column -k numbers of matches in myfile.cpp, with spaces and tabs to space the columns apart with -T:

ug -THnk 'main' myfile.cpp

To display the line with -n of word main in myfile.cpp:

ug -nw 'main' myfile.cpp

To display the entire file myfile.cpp with line -n numbers:

ug -n '' myfile.cpp

To recursively search for C++ files with main, showing the line and column numbers of matches with -n and -k:

ug -r -nk -tc++ 'main'

To display the byte offset of matches with -b:

ug -r -b -tc++ 'main'

To display the line and column numbers of matches in XML with --xml:

ug -r -nk --xml -tc++ 'main'

🔝 Back to table of contents

Displaying colors with --color and paging the output with --pager

--color[=WHEN], --colour[=WHEN]
        Mark up the matching text with the expression stored in the
        GREP_COLOR or GREP_COLORS environment variable.  The possible
        values of WHEN can be `never', `always', or `auto', where `auto'
        marks up matches only when output on a terminal.  The default is
        `auto'.
--colors=COLORS, --colours=COLORS
        Use COLORS to mark up text.  COLORS is a colon-separated list of
        one or more parameters `sl=' (selected line), `cx=' (context line),
        `mt=' (matched text), `ms=' (match selected), `mc=' (match
        context), `fn=' (file name), `ln=' (line number), `cn=' (column
        number), `bn=' (byte offset), `se=' (separator), `qp=' (TUI
        prompt), `qe=' (TUI errors), `qr=' (TUI regex), `qm=' (TUI regex
        meta characters), `ql=' (TUI regex lists and literals), `qb=' (TUI
        regex braces).  Parameter values are ANSI SGR color codes or `k'
        (black), `r' (red), `g' (green), `y' (yellow), `b' (blue), `m'
        (magenta), `c' (cyan), `w' (white), or leave empty for no color.
        Upper case specifies background colors.  A `+' qualifies a color as
        bright.  A foreground and a background color may be combined with
        font properties `n' (normal), `f' (faint), `h' (highlight), `i'
        (invert), `u' (underline).  Parameter `hl' enables file name
        hyperlinks.  Parameter `rv' reverses the `sl=' and `cx=' parameters
        when option -v is specified.  Selectively overrides GREP_COLORS.
        Legacy grep single parameter codes may be specified, for example
        --colors='7;32' or --colors=ig to set ms (match selected).
--tag[=TAG[,END]]
        Disables colors to mark up matches with TAG.  END marks the end of
        a match if specified, otherwise TAG.  The default is `___'.
--pager[=COMMAND]
        When output is sent to the terminal, uses COMMAND to page through
        the output.  COMMAND defaults to environment variable PAGER when
        defined or `less'.  Enables --heading and --line-buffered.
--pretty[=WHEN]
        When output is sent to a terminal, enables --color, --heading, -n,
        --sort, --tree and -T when not explicitly disabled.  WHEN can be
        `never', `always', or `auto'.  The default is `auto'.
--tree, -^
        Output directories with matching files in a tree-like format for
        option -c or --count, -l or --files-with-matches, -L or
        --files-without-match.  This option is enabled by --pretty when the
        output is sent to a terminal.

To change the color palette, set the GREP_COLORS environment variable or use --colors=COLORS. The value is a colon-separated list of ANSI SGR parameters that defaults to cx=33:mt=1;31:fn=1;35:ln=1;32:cn=1;32:bn=1;32:se=36:

param	result
`sl=`	selected lines
`cx=`	context lines
`rv`	Swaps the `sl=` and `cx=` capabilities when `-v` is specified
`mt=`	matching text in any matching line
`ms=`	matching text in a selected line. The substring mt= by default
`mc=`	matching text in a context line. The substring mt= by default
`fn=`	file names
`ln=`	line numbers
`cn=`	column numbers
`bn=`	byte offsets
`se=`	separators
`hl`	hyperlink file names, same as `--hyperlink`
`qp=`	TUI prompt
`qe=`	TUI errors
`qr=`	TUI regex
`qm=`	TUI regex meta characters
`ql=`	TUI regex lists and literals
`qb=`	TUI regex braces

Multiple SGR codes may be specified for a single parameter when separated by a semicolon, e.g. mt=1;31 specifies bright red. The following SGR codes are available on most color terminals:

code	c	effect	code	c	effect
0	n	normal font and color	2	f	faint (not widely supported)
1	h	highlighted bold font	21	H	highlighted bold off
4	u	underline	24	U	underline off
7	i	invert video	27	I	invert off
30	k	black text	90	+k	bright gray text
31	r	red text	91	+r	bright red text
32	g	green text	92	+g	bright green text
33	y	yellow text	93	+y	bright yellow text
34	b	blue text	94	+b	bright blue text
35	m	magenta text	95	+m	bright magenta text
36	c	cyan text	96	+c	bright cyan text
37	w	white text	97	+w	bright white text
40	K	black background	100	+K	bright gray background
41	R	dark red background	101	+R	bright red background
42	G	dark green background	102	+G	bright green background
43	Y	dark yellow backgrounda	103	+Y	bright yellow background
44	B	dark blue background	104	+B	bright blue background
45	M	dark magenta background	105	+M	bright magenta background
46	C	dark cyan background	106	+C	bright cyan background
47	W	dark white background	107	+W	bright white background

See Wikipedia ANSI escape code - SGR parameters

For quick and easy color specification, the corresponding single-letter color names may be used in place of numeric SGR codes and semicolons are not required to separate color names. Color names and numeric codes may be mixed.

For example, to display matches in underlined bright green on bright selected lines, aiding in visualizing white space in matches and file names:

export GREP_COLORS='sl=1:cx=33:ms=1;4;32;100:mc=1;4;32:fn=1;32;100:ln=1;32:cn=1;32:bn=1;32:se=36'

The same, but with single-letter color names:

export GREP_COLORS='sl=h:cx=y:ms=hug+K:mc=hug:fn=hg+K:ln=hg:cn=hg:bn=hg:se=c'

Another color scheme that works well:

export GREP_COLORS='cx=hb:ms=hiy:mc=hic:fn=hi+y+K:ln=hg:cn=hg:bn=hg:se='

Modern Windows command interpreters support ANSI escape codes. Named or numeric colors can be set with SET GREP_COLORS, for example:

SET GREP_COLORS=sl=1;37:cx=33:mt=1;31:fn=1;35:ln=1;32:cn=1;32:bn=1;32:se=36

To disable colors on Windows:

SET GREP_COLORS=""

Color intensities may differ per platform and per terminal program used, which affects readability.

Option -y outputs every line of input, including non-matching lines as context. The use of color helps distinguish matches from non-matching context.

To copy silver searcher's color palette:

export GREP_COLORS='mt=30;43:fn=1;32:ln=1;33:cn=1;33:bn=1;33'

To produce color-highlighted results (--color is redundance since it is the default):

ug --color -r -n -k -tc++ 'FIXME.*'

To page through the results with pager (less -R by default):

ug --pager -r -n -k -tc++ 'FIXME'

To display a hexdump of a zip file itself (i.e. without decompressing), with color-highlighted matches of the zip magic bytes PK\x03\x04 (--color is redundant since it is the default):

ug --color -y -UX 'PK\x03\x04' some.zip

To use predefined patterns to list all #include and #define in C++ files:

ug --pretty -r -n -tc++ -f c++/includes -f c++/defines

Same, but overriding the color of matches as inverted yellow (reverse video) and headings with yellow on blue using --pretty:

ug --pretty --colors="ms=yi:fn=hyB" -r -n -tc++ -f c++/includes -f c++/defines

To list all #define FOO... macros in C++ files, color-highlighted:

ug --color=always -r -n -tc++ -f c++/defines | ug 'FOO.*'

Same, but restricted to .cpp files only:

ug --color=always -r -n -Ocpp -f c++/defines | ug 'FOO.*'

To search tarballs for matching names of PDF files (assuming bash is our shell):

for tb in *.tar *.tar.gz *.tgz; do echo "$tb"; tar tfz "$tb" | ugrep '.*\.pdf$'; done

🔝 Back to table of contents

Output matches in JSON, XML, CSV, C++

--cpp   Output file matches in C++.  See also options --format and -u.
--csv   Output file matches in CSV.  If -H, -n, -k, or -b is specified,
        additional values are output.  See also options --format and -u.
--json  Output file matches in JSON.  If -H, -n, -k, or -b is specified,
        additional values are output.  See also options --format and -u.
--xml   Output file matches in XML.  If -H, -n, -k, or -b is specified,
        additional values are output.  See also options --format and -u.

To recursively search for lines with TODO and display C++ file matches in JSON with line number properties:

ug -tc++ -n --json 'TODO'

To recursively search for lines with TODO and display C++ file matches in XML with line and column number attributes:

ug -tc++ -nk --xml 'TODO'

To recursively search for lines with TODO and display C++ file matches in CSV format with file pathname, line number, and column number fields:

ug -tc++ --csv -Hnk 'TODO'

To extract a table from an HTML file and put it in C/C++ source code using -o:

ug -o --cpp '<tr>.*</tr>' index.html > table.cpp

🔝 Back to table of contents

Customized output with --format

--format=FORMAT
        Output FORMAT-formatted matches.  For example --format='%f:%n:%O%~'
        outputs matching lines `%O' with filename `%f` and line number `%n'
        followed by a newline `%~'.  If -P is specified, FORMAT may include
        `%1' to `%9', `%[NUM]#' and `%[NAME]#' to output group captures.  A
        `%%' outputs `%'.  See `ugrep --help format' and `man ugrep'
        section FORMAT for details.  When option -o is specified, option -u
        is also enabled.  Context options -A, -B, -C and -y are ignored.
-P, --perl-regexp
        Interpret PATTERN as a Perl regular expression.

Use option -P to use group captures and backreferences. Capturing groups in regex patterns are parenthesized expressions (pattern). The first group is referenced in FORMAT by %1, the second by %2 and so on. Named captures are of the form (?<NAME>pattern) and are referenced in FORMAT by %[NAME]#.

The following output formatting options may be used. The FORMAT string %-fields are listed in a table further below:

option	result
`--format-begin=FORMAT`	`FORMAT` beginning the search
`--format-open=FORMAT`	`FORMAT` opening a file and a match was found
`--format=FORMAT`	`FORMAT` for each match in a file
`--format-close=FORMAT`	`FORMAT` closing a file and a match was found
`--format-end=FORMAT`	`FORMAT` ending the search

The following tables show the formatting options corresponding to --csv, --json, and --xml.

`--csv`

option	format string (within quotes)
`--format-open`	`'%+'`
`--format`	`'%[,]$%H%N%K%B%V%~%u'`

`--json`

option	format string (within quotes)
`--format-begin`	`'['`
`--format-open`	`'%,%~ {%~ %[,%~ ]$%["file": ]H"matches": ['`
`--format`	`'%,%~ { %[, ]$%["line": ]N%["column": ]K%["offset": ]B"match": %J }%u'`
`--format-close`	`'%~ ]%~ }'`
`--format-end`	`'%~]%~'`

`--xml`

option	format string (within quotes)
`--format-begin`	`'<grep>%~'`
`--format-open`	`' <file%["]$%[ name="]I>%~'`
`--format`	`' <match%["]$%[ line="]N%[ column="]K%[ offset="]B>%X</match>%~%u'`
`--format-close`	`' </file>%~'`
`--format-end`	`'</grep>%~'`

`--only-line-number`

option	format string (within quotes)
`--format-open`	`'%+'`
`--format`	`'%F%n%s%K%B%~%u'`

The following fields may be used in the FORMAT string:

field	output
`%%`	the percentage sign
`%~`	a newline (LF or CRLF in Windows)
`%F`	if option `-H` is used: the file pathname and separator
`%[TEXT]F`	if option `-H` is used: `TEXT`, the file pathname and separator
`%f`	the file pathname
`%a`	the file basename without directory path
`%p`	the directory path to the file
`%z`	the pathname in a (compressed) archive, without `{` and `}`
`%H`	if option `-H` is used: the quoted pathname and separator, `\"` and `\\` replace `"` and `\`
`%+`	if option `-+` or `--heading` is used: `%F` and a newline character, suppress all `%F` and `%H` afterward
`%[TEXT]H`	if option `-H` is used: `TEXT`, the quoted pathname and separator, `\"` and `\\` replace `"` and `\`
`%h`	the quoted file pathname, `\"` and `\\` replace `"` and `\`
`%I`	if option `-H` is used: the pathname in XML and separator
`%[TEXT]I`	if option `-H` is used: `TEXT`, the pathname as XML and separator
`%i`	the file pathnames as XML
`%N`	if option `-n` is used: the line number and separator
`%[TEXT]N`	if option `-n` is used: `TEXT`, the line number and separator
`%n`	the line number of the match
`%l`	the last line number of the match (multi-line matching)
`%L`	the number of lines matched (multi-line matching)
`%K`	if option `-k` is used: the column number and separator
`%[TEXT]K`	if option `-k` is used: `TEXT`, the column number and separator
`%k`	the column number of the match
`%A`	byte range (offset and end) of a match in hex
`%B`	if option `-b` is used: the byte offset and separator
`%[TEXT]B`	if option `-b` is used: `TEXT`, the byte offset and separator
`%b`	the byte offset of the match
`%T`	if option `-T` is used: `TEXT` and a tab character
`%[TEXT]T`	if option `-T` is used: `TEXT` and a tab character
`%t`	a tab character
`%[SEP]$`	set field separator to `SEP` for the rest of the format fields
`%[TEXT]<`	if the first match: `TEXT`
`%[TEXT]>`	if not the first match: `TEXT`
`%,`	if not the first match: a comma, same as `%[,]>`
`%:`	if not the first match: a colon, same as `%[:]>`
`%;`	if not the first match: a semicolon, same as `%[;]>`
`%│`	if not the first match: a vertical bar, same as `%[│]>`
`%S`	if not the first match: separator, see also `%[SEP]$`
`%[TEXT]S`	if not the first match: `TEXT` and separator, see also `%[SEP]$`
`%s`	the separator, see also `%[TEXT]S` and `%[SEP]$`
`%R`	if option `--break` or `--heading` is used: a newline
`%m`	the number of matches, sequential (or number of matching files with `--format-end`)
`%M`	the number of matching lines (or number of matching files with `--format-end`)
`%O`	the matching line is output as is (a raw string of bytes)
`%o`	the match is output as is (a raw string of bytes)
`%Q`	the matching line as a quoted string, `\"` and `\\` replace `"` and `\`
`%q`	the match as a quoted string, `\"` and `\\` replace `"` and `\`
`%C`	the matching line formatted as a quoted C/C++ string
`%c`	the match formatted as a quoted C/C++ string
`%J`	the matching line formatted as a quoted JSON string
`%j`	the match formatted as a quoted JSON string
`%V`	the matching line formatted as a quoted CSV string
`%v`	the match formatted as a quoted CSV string
`%X`	the matching line formatted as XML character data
`%x`	the match formatted as XML character data
`%Y`	the matching line formatted in hex
`%y`	the match formatted in hex
`%A`	byte range of the match in hex
`%w`	the width of the match, counting (wide) characters
`%d`	the size of the match, counting bytes
`%e`	the ending byte offset of the match
`%Z`	the edit distance cost of an approximate match with option `-Z`
`%u`	select unique lines only unless option -u is used
`%[hhhh]U`	U+hhhh Unicode code point
`%[CODE]=`	a color CODE, such as `ms`, see colors
`%=`	turn color off
`%1` `%2` ... `%9`	the first regex group capture of the match, and so on up to group `%9`, requires option `-P`
`%[NUM]#`	the group capture `NUM`; requires option `-P`
`%[NUM]b`	the byte offset of the group capture `NUM`; requires option `-P`
`%[NUM]e`	the ending byte offset of the group capture `NUM`; requires option `-P`
`%[NUM]d`	the byte length of the group capture `NUM`; requires option `-P`
`%[NUM]j`	the group capture `NUM` as JSON; requires option `-P`
`%[NUM]q`	the group capture `NUM` quoted; requires option `-P`
`%[NUM]x`	the group capture `NUM` as XML; requires option `-P`
`%[NUM]y`	the group capture `NUM` as hex; requires option `-P`
`%[NUM]v`	the group capture `NUM` as CSV; requires option `-P`
`%[NUM1\|NUM2\|...]#`	the first group capture `NUM` that matched; requires option `-P`
`%[NUM1\|NUM2\|...]b`	the byte offset of the first group capture `NUM` that matched; requires option `-P`.
`%[NUM1\|NUM2\|...]e`	the ending byte offset of the first group capture `NUM` that matched; requires option `-P`.
`%[NUM1\|NUM2\|...]d`	the byte length of the first group capture `NUM` that matched; requires option `-P`.
`%[NUM1\|NUM2\|...]j`	the first group capture `NUM` that matched, as JSON; requires option `-P`
`%[NUM1\|NUM2\|...]q`	the first group capture `NUM` that matched, quoted; requires option `-P`
`%[NUM1\|NUM2\|...]x`	the first group capture `NUM` that matched, as XML; requires option `-P`
`%[NUM1\|NUM2\|...]y`	the first group capture `NUM` that matched, as hex; requires option `-P`
`%[NUM1\|NUM2\|...]v`	the first group capture `NUM` that matched, as CSV; requires option `-P`
`%[NAME]#`	the `NAME`d group capture; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%[NAME]b`	the byte offset of the `NAME`d group capture; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`.
`%[NAME]e`	the ending byte offset of the `NAME`d group capture; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`.
`%[NAME]d`	the byte length of the `NAME`d group capture; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`.
`%[NAME]j`	the `NAME`d group capture as JSON; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%[NAME]q`	the `NAME`d group capture quoted; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%[NAME]x`	the `NAME`d group capture as XML; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%[NAME]y`	the `NAME`d group capture as hex; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%[NAME]v`	the `NAME`d group capture as CSV; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%[NAME1\|NAME2\|...]#`	the first `NAME`d group capture that matched; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%[NAME1\|NAME2\|...]b`	the byte offset of the first `NAME`d group capture that matched; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%[NAME1\|NAME2\|...]e`	the ending byte offset of the first `NAME`d group capture that matched; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%[NAME1\|NAME2\|...]d`	the byte length of the first `NAME`d group capture that matched; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%[NAME1\|NAME2\|...]j`	the first `NAME`d group capture that matched, as JSON; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%[NAME1\|NAME2\|...]q`	the first `NAME`d group capture that matched, quoted; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%[NAME1\|NAME2\|...]x`	the first `NAME`d group capture that matched, as XML; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%[NAME1\|NAME2\|...]y`	the first `NAME`d group capture that matched, as hex; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%[NAME1\|NAME2\|...]v`	the first `NAME`d group capture that matched, as CSV; requires option `-P` and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)`
`%G`	list of group capture indices/names of the match (see note)
`%[TEXT1\|TEXT2\|...]G`	list of TEXT indexed by group capture indices that matched; requires option `-P`
`%g`	the group capture index of the match or 1 (see note)
`%[TEXT1\|TEXT2\|...]g`	the first TEXT indexed by the first group capture index that matched; requires option `-P`

Note:

Formatted output is written without a terminating newline, unless %~ is explicitly specified in the format string.
Option -o changes the output of the %O and %Q fields to output the match only.
Options -c, -l and -o change the output of %C, %J, %X and %Y accordingly
The [TEXT] part of a field is optional and may be omitted. When present, the argument must be placed in [] brackets, for example %[,]F to output a comma, the pathname, and a separator, when option -H is used.
Numeric fields such as %n are padded with spaces when %{width}n is specified.
Matching line fields such as %O are cut to width when %{width}O is specified or when %{-width}O is specified to cut from the end of the line.
Character context on a matching line before or after a match is output when %{-width}o or %{+width}o is specified for match fields such as %o, where %{width}o without a +/- sign cuts the match to the specified width.
Fields %[SEP]$ and %u are switches and do not write anything to the output.
The separator used by %F, %H, %N, %K, %B, %S, and %G may be changed by preceding the field with a %[SEP]$. When [SEP] is not provided, reverts the separator to the default separator or the separator specified by --separator.
Formatted output is written for each matching pattern, which means that a line may be output multiple times when patterns match more than once on the same line. When field %u is found anywhere in the specified format string, matching lines are output only once unless option -u, --ungroup is used or when a newline is matched.
The group capture index value output by %g corresponds to the index of the sub-pattern matched among the alternations in the pattern when option -P is not used. For example foo|bar matches foo with index 1 and bar with index 2. With option -P, the index corresponds to the number of the first group captured in the specified pattern.
The strings specified in the list %[TEXT1|TEXT2|...]G and %[TEXT1|TEXT2|...]g should correspond to the group capture index (see the note above), i.e. TEXT1 is output for index 1, TEXT2 is output for index 2, and so on. If the list is too short, the index value is output or the name of a named group capture is output.
Option -T and --pretty add right-justifying spacing to fields %N and %K if no leading [TEXT] part is specified.
Field %+ may be used in --format-open to output the pathname heading and a newline break, respectively. Field %+ suppresses %a, %F, %f, %H, %h and %p output.

To output matching lines faster by omitting the header output and binary match checks, using --format with field %O (output matching line as is) and field %~ (output newline):

ug --format='%O%~' 'href=' index.html

Same, but also displaying the line and column numbers:

ug --format='%n%k: %O%~' 'href=' index.html

Same, but display a line at most once when matching multiple patterns, unless option -u is used:

ug --format='%u%n%k: %O%~' 'href=' index.html

To string together a list of unique line numbers of matches, separated by commas with field %,:

ug --format='%u%,%n' 'href=' index.html

To output the matching part of a line only with field %o (or option -o with field %O):

ug --format='%o%~' "href=[\"'][^\"'][\"']" index.html

To string together the pattern matches as CSV-formatted strings with field %v separated by commas with field %,:

ug --format='%,%v' "href=[\"'][^\"'][\"']" index.html

To output matches in CSV (comma-separated values), the same as option --csv (works with options -H, -n, -k, -b to add CSV values):

ug --format='"%[,]$%H%N%K%B%V%~%u"' 'href=' index.html

To output matches in AckMate format:

ug --format=":%f%~%n;%k %w:%O%~" 'href=' index.html

To output the sub-pattern indices 1, 2, and 3 on the left to the match for the three patterns foo, bar, and baz in file foobar.txt:

ug --format='%g: %o%~' 'foo|bar|baz' foobar.txt

Same, but using a file foos containing three lines with foo, bar, and baz, where option -F is used to match strings instead of regex:

ug -F -f foos --format='%g: %o%~' foobar.txt

To output one, two, and a word for the sub-patterns [fF]oo, [bB]ar, and any other word \w+, respectively, using argument [one|two|a word] with field %g indexed by sub-pattern (or group captures with option -P):

ug --format='%[one|two|a word]g%~' '([fF]oo)|([bB]ar)|(\w+)' foobar.txt

To output a list of group capture indices with %G separated by the word and instead of the default colons with %[ and ]$, followed by the matching line:

ug -P --format='%[ and ]$%G%$%s%O%~' '(foo)|(ba((r)|(z)))' foobar.txt

Same, but showing names instead of numbers:

ug -P --format='%[ and ]$%[foo|ba|r|z]G%$%s%O%~' '(foo)|(ba(?:(r)|(z)))' foobar.txt

Note that option -P is required for general use of group captures for sub-patterns. Named sub-pattern matches may be used with PCRE2 and shown in the output:

ug -P --format='%[ and ]$%G%$%s%O%~' '(?P<foo>foo)|(?P<ba>ba(?:(?P<r>r)|(?P<z>z)))' foobar.txt

🔝 Back to table of contents

Replacing matches with -P --replace and --format using backreferences

--replace=FORMAT
        Replace matching patterns in the output by the specified FORMAT
        with `%' fields.  If -P is specified, FORMAT may include `%1' to
        `%9', `%[NUM]#' and `%[NAME]#' to output group captures.  A `%%'
        outputs `%' and `%~' outputs a newline.  See option --format,
        `ugrep --help format' and `man ugrep' section FORMAT for details.
-y, --any-line
        Any line is output (passthru).  Non-matching lines are output as
        context with a `-' separator.  See also options -A, -B, and -C.
-P, --perl-regexp
        Interpret PATTERN as a Perl regular expression.
--format=FORMAT
        Output FORMAT-formatted matches.  For example --format='%f:%n:%O%~'
        outputs matching lines `%O' with filename `%f` and line number `%n'
        followed by a newline `%~'.  If -P is specified, FORMAT may include
        `%1' to `%9', `%[NUM]#' and `%[NAME]#' to output group captures.  A
        `%%' outputs `%'.  See `ugrep --help format' and `man ugrep'
        section FORMAT for details.  When option -o is specified, option -u
        is also enabled.  Context options -A, -B, -C and -y are ignored.

See customized output with --format for details on the FORMAT fields.

For option -o, the replacement is not automatically followed by a newline to allow for more flexibility in replacements. To output a newline, use %~ in the FORMAT string.

Use option -P to use group captures and backreferences. Capturing groups in regex patterns are parenthesized expressions (pattern) and the first is referenced in FORMAT by %1, the second by %2 and so on. Named captures are of the form (?<NAME>pattern) and are referenced in FORMAT by %[NAME]#.

To display pattern matches with their sequential match number using --replace='%m:%o' where %m is the sequential match number and %o is the pattern matched:

ug --replace='%m:%o' pattern myfile.txt

Same, but passing the file through with option -y, while applying the replacements to the output:

ug -y --replace='%m:%o' pattern myfile.txt

To extract table cells from an HTML file using Perl matching (-P) to support group captures with lazy quantifier (.*?), and translate the matches to a comma-separated list with format %,%1 (conditional comma and group capture):

ug -P -o '<td>(.*?)</td>' --replace='%,%1' index.html

Same, but using --format='%,%1' instead and we do not need -o (note that --replace color-highlights matches shown on a terminal but --format does not):

ug -P '<td>(.*?)</td>' --format='%,%1' index.html

Same, but displaying the formatted matches line-by-line, with --replace or with --format:

ug -P -o '<td>(.*?)</td>' --replace='%,%1' index.html
ug -P '<td>(.*?)</td>' --format='%1%~' index.html

To collect all href URLs from all HTML and PHP files down the working directory, then sort them:

ug -r -thtml,php -P '<[^<>]+href\h*=\h*.([^\x27"]+).' --format='%1%~' | sort -u

Same, but much easier by using the predefined html/href pattern:

ug -r -thtml,php -P -f html/href --format='%1%~' | sort -u

Same, but in this case select <script> src URLs when referencing http and https sites:

ug -r -thtml,php -P '<script.*src\h*=\h*.(https?:[^\x27"]+).' --format='%1%~' | sort -u

🔝 Back to table of contents

Limiting the number of matches with -1,-2...-9, -K, -m, and --max-files

--depth=[MIN,][MAX], -1, -2, -3, ... -9, -10, -11, -12, ...
        Restrict recursive searches from MIN to MAX directory levels deep,
        where -1 (--depth=1) searches the specified path without recursing
        into subdirectories.  Note that -3 -5, -3-5, and -35 search 3 to 5
        levels deep.  Enables -r if -R or -r is not specified.
-K [MIN,][MAX], --range=[MIN,][MAX], --min-line=MIN, --max-line=MAX
        Start searching at line MIN, stop at line MAX when specified.
-m [MIN,][MAX], --min-count=MIN, --max-count=MAX
        Require MIN matches, stop after MAX matches when specified.  Output
        MIN to MAX matches.  For example, -m1 outputs the first match and
        -cm1, (with a comma) counts nonzero matches.  If -u is specified,
        each individual match counts.  See also option -K.
--max-files=NUM
        Restrict the number of files matched to NUM.  Note that --sort or
        -J1 may be specified to produce replicable results.  If --sort is
        specified, the number of threads spawned is limited to NUM.
--sort[=KEY]
        Displays matching files in the order specified by KEY in recursive
        searches.  Normally the ug command sorts by name whereas the ugrep
        batch command displays matches in no particular order to improve
        performance.  The sort KEY can be `name' to sort by pathname
        (default), `best' to sort by best match with option -Z (sort by
        best match requires two passes over files, which is expensive),
        `size' to sort by file size, `used' to sort by last access time,
        `changed' to sort by last modification time and `created' to sort
        by creation time.  Sorting is reversed with `rname', `rbest',
        `rsize', `rused', `rchanged', or `rcreated'.  Archive contents are
        not sorted.  Subdirectories are sorted and displayed after matching
        files.  FILE arguments are searched in the same order as specified.

To show only up to the first 10 matching lines with FIXME in C++ files in the working directory and all subdirectories below:

ug -r -m10 -tc++ FIXME

Same, but recursively search up to two directory levels, meaning that ./ and ./sub/ are visited but not deeper:

ug -2 -m10 -tc++ FIXME

To show only the first two files that have one or more matches of FIXME in the list of files sorted by pathname, using --max-files=2:

ug --sort -r --max-files=2 -tc++ FIXME

To search file install.sh for the occurrences of the word make after the first line, we use -K with line number 2 to start searching, where -n shows the line numbers in the output:

ug -n -K2 -w make install.sh

Same, but restricting the search to lines 2 to 40 (inclusive):

ug -n -K2,40 -w make install.sh

Same, but showing all lines 2 to 40 with -y:

ug -y -n -K2,40 -w make install.sh

Same, but showing only the first four matching lines after line 2, with one line of context:

ug -n -C1 -K2 -m4 -w make install.sh

🔝 Back to table of contents

Matching empty patterns with -Y

-Y, --empty
        Permits empty matches.  By default, empty matches are disabled,
        unless a pattern begins with `^' or ends with `$'.  Note that -Y
        when specified with an empty-matching pattern, such as x? and x*,
        match all input, not only lines containing the character `x'.

Option -Y permits empty pattern matches, like GNU/BSD grep. This option is introduced by ugrep to prevent accidental matching with empty patterns: empty-matching patterns such as x? and x* match all input, not only lines with x. By default, without -Y, patterns match lines with at least one x as intended.

This option is automatically enabled when a pattern starts with ^ or ends with $ is specified. For example, ^\h*$ matches blank lines, including empty lines.

To recursively list files in the working directory with blank lines, i.e. lines with white space only, including empty lines (note that option -Y is implicitly enabled since the pattern starts with ^ and ends with $):

ug -l '^\h*$'

🔝 Back to table of contents

Case-insentitive matching with -i and -j

-i, --ignore-case
        Perform case insensitive matching.  By default, ugrep is case
        sensitive.  By default, this option applies to ASCII letters only.
        Use options -P and -i for Unicode case insensitive matching.
-j, --smart-case
        Perform case insensitive matching like option -i, unless a pattern
        is specified with a literal ASCII upper case letter.

To match todo in myfile.cpp regardless of case:

 ug -i 'todo' myfile.txt

To match todo XXX with todo in any case but XXX as given, with pattern (?i:todo) to match todo ignoring case:

 ug '(?i:todo) XXX' myfile.cpp

🔝 Back to table of contents

Sort files by name, best match, size, and time

--sort[=KEY]
        Displays matching files in the order specified by KEY in recursive
        searches.  Normally the ug command sorts by name whereas the ugrep
        batch command displays matches in no particular order to improve
        performance.  The sort KEY can be `name' to sort by pathname
        (default), `best' to sort by best match with option -Z (sort by
        best match requires two passes over files, which is expensive),
        `size' to sort by file size, `used' to sort by last access time,
        `changed' to sort by last modification time and `created' to sort
        by creation time.  Sorting is reversed with `rname', `rbest',
        `rsize', `rused', `rchanged', or `rcreated'.  Archive contents are
        not sorted.  Subdirectories are sorted and displayed after matching
        files.  FILE arguments are searched in the same order as specified.

Matching files are displayed in the order specified by --sort per directory searched. By default, the ug command sorts by name whereas the output of the ugrep command is not sorted to improve performance, unless option -Q is used which sorts files by name. An optimized sorting method and strategy are implemented in the asynchronous output class to keep the overhead of sorting very low. Directories are displayed after files are displayed first, when recursing, which visually aids the user in finding the "closest" matching files first at the top of the displayed results.

To recursively search for C++ files that match main and sort them by date created:

ug --sort=created -tc++ 'main'

Same, but sorted by time changed from most recent to oldest:

ug --sort=rchanged -tc++ 'main'

🔝 Back to table of contents

Tips for advanced users

When searching non-binary files only, the binary content check is disabled with option -a (--text) to speed up searching and displaying pattern matches. For example, searching for lines with int in C++ source code:

ug -r -a -Ocpp -w 'int'

If a file has potentially many pattern matches, but each match is only one a single line, then option -u (--ungroup) can speed this up:

ug -r -a -u -Opython -w 'def'

Even greater speeds can be achieved with --format when searching files with many matches. For example, --format='%O%~' displays matching lines for each match on that line, while --format='%o%~' displays the matching part only. Note that the --format option does not check for binary matches, so the output is always "as is". To match text and binary, you can use --format='%C%~' to display matches formatted as quoted C++ strings with escapes. To display a line at most once (unless option -u is used), add the %u (unique) field to the format string, e.g. --format='%u%O%~'.

For example, to match all words recursively in the working directory with line and column numbers, where %n is the line number, %k is the column number, %o is the match (only matching), and %~ is a newline:

ug -r --format='%n,%k:%o%~' '\w+'

🔝 Back to table of contents

More examples

To search for pattern -o in script.sh using -e to explicitly specify a pattern to prevent pattern -o from being interpreted as an option:

ug -n -e '-o' script.sh

Alternatively, using -- to end the list of command arguments:

ug -n -- '-o' script.sh

To recursively list all text files (.txt and .md) that do not properly end with a \n (-o is required to match \n or \z):

ug -L -o -Otext '\n\z'

To list all markdown sections in text files (.text, .txt, .TXT, and .md):

ug -o -ttext -e '^.*(?=\r?\n(===|---))' -e '^#{1,6}\h+.*'

To display multi-line backtick and indented code blocks in markdown files with their line numbers, using a lazy quantifier *? to make the pattern compact:

ug -n -ttext -e '^```(.|\n)*?\n```' -e '^(\t|[ ]{4}).*'

To find mismatched code (a backtick without matching backtick on the same line) in markdown:

ug -n -ttext -e '`[^`]+' -N '`[^`]*`'

🔝 Back to table of contents

Man page

UGREP(1)                          User Commands                         UGREP(1)



NAME
       ugrep, ug -- file pattern searcher

SYNOPSIS
       ugrep [OPTIONS] [-i] [-Q|PATTERN] [-e PATTERN] [-N PATTERN] [-f FILE]
             [-F|-G|-P|-Z] [-U] [-m [MIN,][MAX]] [--bool [--files|--lines]]
             [-r|-R|-1|...|-9|-10|...] [-t TYPES] [-g GLOBS] [--sort[=KEY]]
             [-l|-c] [-o] [-n] [-k] [-b] [-A NUM] [-B NUM] [-C NUM] [-y]
             [--color[=WHEN]|--colour[=WHEN]] [--pretty] [--pager[=COMMAND]]
             [--hexdump|--csv|--json|--xml] [-I] [-z] [--zmax=NUM] [FILE ...]

DESCRIPTION
       The ugrep utility searches any given input files, selecting files and
       lines that match one or more patterns specified as regular expressions or
       as fixed strings.  A pattern matches multiple input lines when the
       pattern's regular expression matches one or more newlines.  An empty
       pattern matches every line.  Each input line that matches at least one of
       the patterns is written to the standard output.

       The ug command is intended for interactive searching, using a .ugrep
       configuration file located in the working directory or home directory,
       see CONFIGURATION.  ug is equivalent to ugrep --config --pretty --sort to
       load a .ugrep file, enhance the terminal output, and sort files by name.

       The ugrep+ and ug+ commands are the same as the ugrep and ug commands,
       but also use filters to search pdfs, documents, e-books, and image
       metadata, when the corresponding filter tools are installed.

       A list of matching files is produced with option -l (--files-with-
       matches).  Option -c (--count) counts the number of matching lines.  When
       combined with option -o, counts the total number of matches.  When
       combined with option -m1, (--min-count=1), skips files with zero matches.

       The default pattern syntax is an extended form of the POSIX ERE syntax,
       same as option -E (--extended-regexp).  Try ug --help regex for help with
       pattern syntax and how to use logical connectives to specify Boolean
       search queries with option -% (--bool) to match lines and -%% (--bool
       --files) to match files.  Options -F (--fixed-strings), -G (--basic-
       regexp) and -P (--perl-regexp) specify other pattern syntaxes.

       Option -i (--ignore-case) ignores case in ASCII patterns.  When combined
       with option -P, ignores case in Unicode patterns.  Option -j (--smart-
       case) enables -i only if the search patterns are specified in lower case.

       Fuzzy (approximate) search is specified with option -Z (--fuzzy) with an
       optional argument to control character insertions, deletions, and/or
       substitutions.  Try ug --help fuzzy for help with fuzzy search.

       Note that pattern `.' matches any non-newline character.  Pattern `\n'
       matches a newline character.  Multiple lines may be matched with patterns
       that match one or more newline characters.

       The empty pattern "" matches all lines.  Other empty-matching patterns do
       not.  For example, the pattern `a*' will match one or more a's.  Option
       -Y forces empty matches for compatibility with other grep tools.

       Option -f FILE matches patterns specified in FILE.

       By default Unicode patterns are matched.  Option -U (--ascii or --binary)
       disables Unicode matching for ASCII and binary pattern matching.  Non-
       Unicode matching is more efficient.

       ugrep accepts input of various encoding formats and normalizes the output
       to UTF-8.  When a UTF byte order mark is present in the input, the input
       is automatically normalized.  An input encoding format may be specified
       with option --encoding.

       If no FILE arguments are specified and standard input is read from a
       terminal, recursive searches are performed as if -r is specified.  To
       force reading from standard input, specify `-' as a FILE argument.

       Directories specified as FILE arguments are searched without recursing
       deeper into subdirectories, unless -R, -r, or -2...-9 is specified to
       search subdirectories recursively (up to the specified depth.)

       Option -I (--ignore-binary) ignores binary files.  A binary file is a
       file with non-text content.  A file with zero bytes or invalid UTF
       formatting is considered binary.

       Hidden files and directories are ignored in recursive searches.  Option
       -. (--hidden) includes hidden files and directories in recursive
       searches.

       To match the names of files to search and the names of directories to
       recurse, one or more of the following options may be specified.  Option
       -O specifies one or more filename extensions to match.  Option -t
       specifies one or more file types to search (-t list outputs a list of
       types.)  Option -g specifies a gitignore-style glob pattern to match
       filenames.  Option --ignore-files specifies a file with gitignore-style
       globs to ignore directories and files.  Try ug --help globs for help with
       filename and directory name matching.  See also section GLOBBING.

       Compressed files and archives are searched with option -z (--decompress).
       When used with option --zmax=NUM, searches the contents of compressed
       files and archives stored within archives up to NUM levels.

       A query terminal user interface (TUI) is opened with -Q (--query) to
       interactively specify search patterns and view search results.  A PATTERN
       argument requires -e PATTERN to start the query TUI with the specified
       pattern.

       Output to a terminal for viewing is enhanced with --pretty, which is
       enabled by default with the ug command.

       A terminal output pager is enabled with --pager.

       Customized output is produced with option --format or --replace.  Try ug
       --help format for help with custom formatting of the output.  Predefined
       formats include CSV with option --csv, JSON with option --json, and XML
       with option --xml.  Hexdumps are output with option -X (--hex) or with
       option --hexdump to customize hexdumps.  See also section FORMAT.

       A `--' signals the end of options; the rest of the parameters are FILE
       arguments, allowing filenames to begin with a `-' character.

       Long options may start with `--no-' to disable, when applicable.

       ug --help WHAT displays help on options related to WHAT.

       The following options are available:

       -A NUM, --after-context=NUM
              Output NUM lines of trailing context after matching lines.  Places
              a --group-separator between contiguous groups of matches.  If -o
              is specified, output the match with context to fit NUM columns
              after the match or shortens the match.  See also options -B, -C
              and -y.

       -a, --text
              Process a binary file as if it were text.  This is equivalent to
              the --binary-files=text option.  This option might output binary
              garbage to the terminal, which can have problematic consequences
              if the terminal driver interprets some of it as commands.

       --all, -@
              Search all files except hidden: cancel previous file and directory
              search restrictions and cancel --ignore-binary and --ignore-files
              when specified.  Restrictions specified after this option, i.e. to
              the right, are still applied.  For example, -@I searches all
              non-binary files and -@. searches all files including hidden
              files.  Note that hidden files and directories are never searched,
              unless option -. or --hidden is specified.

       --and [-e] PATTERN
              Specify additional PATTERN that must match.  Additional -e PATTERN
              following this option is considered an alternative pattern to
              match, i.e. each -e is interpreted as an OR pattern enclosed
              within the AND.  For example, -e A -e B --and -e C -e D matches
              lines with (`A' or `B') and (`C' or `D').  Note that multiple -e
              PATTERN are alternations that bind more tightly together than
              --and.  Option --stats displays the search patterns applied.  See
              also options --not, --andnot, --bool, --files and --lines.

       --andnot [-e] PATTERN
              Combines --and --not.  See also options --and, --not and --bool.

       -B NUM, --before-context=NUM
              Output NUM lines of leading context before matching lines.  Places
              a --group-separator between contiguous groups of matches.  If -o
              is specified, output the match with context to fit NUM columns
              before the match or shortens the match.  See also options -A, -C
              and -y.

       -b, --byte-offset
              The offset in bytes of a pattern match is displayed in front of
              the respective matched line.  When -u is specified, displays the
              offset for each pattern matched on the same line.  Byte offsets
              are exact for ASCII, UTF-8 and raw binary input.  Otherwise, the
              byte offset in the UTF-8 normalized input is displayed.

       --binary-files=TYPE
              Controls searching and reporting pattern matches in binary files.
              TYPE can be `binary', `without-match`, `text`, `hex` and
              `with-hex'.  The default is `binary' to search binary files and to
              report a match without displaying the match.  `without-match'
              ignores binary matches.  `text' treats all binary files as text,
              which might output binary garbage to the terminal, which can have
              problematic consequences if the terminal driver interprets some of
              it as commands.  `hex' reports all matches in hexadecimal.
              `with-hex' only reports binary matches in hexadecimal, leaving
              text matches alone.  A match is considered binary when matching a
              zero byte or invalid UTF.  Short options are -a, -I, -U, -W and
              -X.

       --bool, -%, -%%
              Specifies Boolean query patterns.  A Boolean query pattern is
              composed of `AND', `OR', `NOT' operators and grouping with `('
              `)'.  Spacing between subpatterns is the same as `AND', `|' is the
              same as `OR' and a `-' is the same as `NOT'.  The `OR' operator
              binds more tightly than `AND'.  For example, --bool 'A|B C|D'
              matches lines with (`A' or `B') and (`C' or `D'), --bool 'A -B'
              matches lines with `A' and not `B'.  Operators `AND', `OR', `NOT'
              require proper spacing.  For example, --bool 'A OR B AND C OR D'
              matches lines with (`A' or `B') and (`C' or `D'), --bool 'A AND
              NOT B' matches lines with `A' without `B'.  Quoted subpatterns are
              matched literally as strings.  For example, --bool 'A "AND"|"OR"'
              matches lines with `A' and also either `AND' or `OR'.  Parentheses
              are used for grouping.  For example, --bool '(A B)|C' matches
              lines with `A' and `B', or lines with `C'.  Note that all
              subpatterns in a Boolean query pattern are regular expressions,
              unless -F is specified.  Options -E, -F, -G, -P and -Z can be
              combined with --bool to match subpatterns as strings or regular
              expressions (-E is the default.)  This option does not apply to -f
              FILE patterns.  The double short option -%% enables options --bool
              --files.  Option --stats displays the Boolean search patterns
              applied.  See also options --and, --andnot, --not, --files and
              --lines.

       --break
              Adds a line break between results from different files.  This
              option is enabled by --heading.

       -C NUM, --context=NUM
              Output NUM lines of leading and trailing context surrounding each
              matching line.  Places a --group-separator between contiguous
              groups of matches.  If -o is specified, output the match with
              context to fit NUM columns before and after the match or shortens
              the match.  See also options -A, -B and -y.

       -c, --count
              Only a count of selected lines is written to standard output.  If
              -o or -u is specified, counts the number of patterns matched.  If
              -v is specified, counts the number of non-matching lines.  If -m1,
              (with a comma or --min-count=1) is specified, counts only matching
              files without outputting zero matches.

       --color[=WHEN], --colour[=WHEN]
              Mark up the matching text with the colors specified with option
              --colors or the GREP_COLOR or GREP_COLORS environment variable.
              WHEN can be `never', `always', or `auto', where `auto' marks up
              matches only when output on a terminal.  The default is `auto'.

       --colors=COLORS, --colours=COLORS
              Use COLORS to mark up text.  COLORS is a colon-separated list of
              one or more parameters `sl=' (selected line), `cx=' (context
              line), `mt=' (matched text), `ms=' (match selected), `mc=' (match
              context), `fn=' (file name), `ln=' (line number), `cn=' (column
              number), `bn=' (byte offset), `se=' (separator), `qp=' (TUI
              prompt), `qe=' (TUI errors), `qr=' (TUI regex), `qm=' (TUI regex
              meta characters), `ql=' (TUI regex lists and literals), `qb=' (TUI
              regex braces).  Parameter values are ANSI SGR color codes or `k'
              (black), `r' (red), `g' (green), `y' (yellow), `b' (blue), `m'
              (magenta), `c' (cyan), `w' (white), or leave empty for no color.
              Upper case specifies background colors.  A `+' qualifies a color
              as bright.  A foreground and a background color may be combined
              with font properties `n' (normal), `f' (faint), `h' (highlight),
              `i' (invert), `u' (underline).  Parameter `hl' enables file name
              hyperlinks.  Parameter `rv' reverses the `sl=' and `cx='
              parameters when option -v is specified.  Selectively overrides
              GREP_COLORS.  Legacy grep single parameter codes may be specified,
              for example --colors='7;32' or --colors=ig to set ms (match
              selected).

       --config[=FILE], ---[FILE]
              Use configuration FILE.  The default FILE is `.ugrep'.  The
              working directory is checked first for FILE, then the home
              directory.  The options specified in the configuration FILE are
              parsed first, followed by the remaining options specified on the
              command line.  The ug command automatically loads a `.ugrep'
              configuration file, unless --config=FILE or --no-config is
              specified.

       --no-config
              Do not automatically load the default .ugrep configuration file.

       --no-confirm
              Do not confirm actions in -Q query TUI.  The default is confirm.

       --cpp  Output file matches in C++.  See also options --format and -u.

       --csv  Output file matches in CSV.  If -H, -n, -k, or -b is specified,
              additional values are output.  See also options --format and -u.

       -D ACTION, --devices=ACTION
              If an input file is a device, FIFO or socket, use ACTION to
              process it.  By default, ACTION is `skip', which means that
              devices are silently skipped.  If ACTION is `read', devices read
              just as if they were ordinary files.

       -d ACTION, --directories=ACTION
              If an input file is a directory, use ACTION to process it.  By
              default, ACTION is `skip', i.e., silently skip directories unless
              specified on the command line.  If ACTION is `read', warn when
              directories are read as input.  If ACTION is `recurse', read all
              files under each directory, recursively, following symbolic links
              only if they are on the command line.  This is equivalent to the
              -r option.  If ACTION is `dereference-recurse', read all files
              under each directory, recursively, following symbolic links.  This
              is equivalent to the -R option.

       --delay=DELAY
              Set the default -Q key response delay.  Default is 3 for 300ms.

       --depth=[MIN,][MAX], -1, -2, -3, ... -9, -10, -11, ...
              Restrict recursive searches from MIN to MAX directory levels deep,
              where -1 (--depth=1) searches the specified path without recursing
              into subdirectories.  The short forms -3 -5, -3-5 and -3,5 search
              3 to 5 levels deep.  Enables -r if -R or -r is not specified.

       --dotall
              Dot `.' in regular expressions matches anything, including
              newline.  Note that `.*' matches all input and should not be used.

       -E, --extended-regexp
              Interpret patterns as extended regular expressions (EREs). This is
              the default.

       -e PATTERN, --regexp=PATTERN
              Specify a PATTERN to search the input.  An input line is selected
              if it matches any of the specified patterns.  This option is
              useful when multiple -e options are used to specify multiple
              patterns, or when a pattern begins with a dash (`-'), or to
              specify a pattern after option -f or after the FILE arguments.

       --encoding=ENCODING
              The encoding format of the input.  The default ENCODING is binary
              and UTF-8 which are the same.  Note that option -U specifies
              binary PATTERN matching (text matching is the default.)  ENCODING
              can be: `binary', `ASCII', `UTF-8', `UTF-16', `UTF-16BE',
              `UTF-16LE', `UTF-32', `UTF-32BE', `UTF-32LE', `LATIN1',
              `ISO-8859-1', `ISO-8859-2', `ISO-8859-3', `ISO-8859-4',
              `ISO-8859-5', `ISO-8859-6', `ISO-8859-7', `ISO-8859-8',
              `ISO-8859-9', `ISO-8859-10', `ISO-8859-11', `ISO-8859-13',
              `ISO-8859-14', `ISO-8859-15', `ISO-8859-16', `MAC', `MACROMAN',
              `EBCDIC', `CP437', `CP850', `CP858', `CP1250', `CP1251', `CP1252',
              `CP1253', `CP1254', `CP1255', `CP1256', `CP1257', `CP1258',
              `KOI8-R', `KOI8-U', `KOI8-RU'.

       --exclude=GLOB
              Exclude files whose name matches GLOB, same as -g ^GLOB.  GLOB can
              use **, *, ?, and [...] as wildcards and \ to quote a wildcard or
              backslash character literally.  When GLOB contains a `/', full
              pathnames are matched.  Otherwise basenames are matched.  When
              GLOB ends with a `/', directories are excluded as if --exclude-dir
              is specified.  Otherwise files are excluded.  Note that --exclude
              patterns take priority over --include patterns.  GLOB should be
              quoted to prevent shell globbing.  This option may be repeated.

       --exclude-dir=GLOB
              Exclude directories whose name matches GLOB from recursive
              searches, same as -g ^GLOB/.  GLOB can use **, *, ?, and [...] as
              wildcards and \ to quote a wildcard or backslash character
              literally.  When GLOB contains a `/', full pathnames are matched.
              Otherwise basenames are matched.  Note that --exclude-dir patterns
              take priority over --include-dir patterns.  GLOB should be quoted
              to prevent shell globbing.  This option may be repeated.

       --exclude-from=FILE
              Read the globs from FILE and skip files and directories whose name
              matches one or more globs.  A glob can use **, *, ?, and [...] as
              wildcards and \ to quote a wildcard or backslash character
              literally.  When a glob contains a `/', full pathnames are
              matched.  Otherwise basenames are matched.  When a glob ends with
              a `/', directories are excluded as if --exclude-dir is specified.
              Otherwise files are excluded.  A glob starting with a `!'
              overrides previously-specified exclusions by including matching
              files.  Lines starting with a `#' and empty lines in FILE are
              ignored.  When FILE is a `-', standard input is read.  This option
              may be repeated.

       --exclude-fs=MOUNTS
              Exclude file systems specified by MOUNTS from recursive searches.
              MOUNTS is a comma-separated list of mount points or pathnames to
              directories.  When MOUNTS is not specified, only descends into the
              file systems associated with the specified file and directory
              search targets, i.e. excludes all other file systems.  Note that
              --exclude-fs=MOUNTS take priority over --include-fs=MOUNTS.  This
              option may be repeated.

       -F, --fixed-strings
              Interpret pattern as a set of fixed strings, separated by
              newlines, any of which is to be matched.  This makes ugrep behave
              as fgrep.  If a PATTERN is specified, or -e PATTERN or -N PATTERN,
              then this option has no effect on -f FILE patterns to allow -f
              FILE patterns to narrow or widen the scope of the PATTERN search.

       -f FILE, --file=FILE
              Read newline-separated patterns from FILE.  White space in
              patterns is significant.  Empty lines in FILE are ignored.  If
              FILE does not exist, the GREP_PATH environment variable is used as
              path to FILE.  If that fails, looks for FILE in
              /usr/local/share/ugrep/patterns.  When FILE is a `-', standard
              input is read.  Empty files contain no patterns; thus nothing is
              matched.  This option may be repeated.

       --filter=COMMANDS
              Filter files through the specified COMMANDS first before
              searching.  COMMANDS is a comma-separated list of `exts:command
              [option ...]', where `exts' is a comma-separated list of filename
              extensions and `command' is a filter utility.  Files matching one
              of `exts' are filtered.  When `exts' is a `*', all files are
              filtered.  One or more `option' separated by spacing may be
              specified, which are passed verbatim to the command.  A `%' as
              `option' expands into the pathname to search.  For example,
              --filter='pdf:pdftotext % -' searches PDF files.  The `%' expands
              into a `-' when searching standard input.  When a `%' is not
              specified, a filter utility should read from standard input and
              write to standard output.  Option --label=.ext may be used to
              specify extension `ext' when searching standard input.  This
              option may be repeated.

       --filter-magic-label=[+]LABEL:MAGIC
              Associate LABEL with files whose signature "magic bytes" match the
              MAGIC regex pattern.  Only files that have no filename extension
              are labeled, unless +LABEL is specified.  When LABEL matches an
              extension specified in --filter=COMMANDS, the corresponding
              command is invoked.  This option may be repeated.

       --format=FORMAT
              Output FORMAT-formatted matches.  For example
              --format='%f:%n:%O%~' outputs matching lines `%O' with filename
              `%f` and line number `%n' followed by a newline `%~'.  If -P is
              specified, FORMAT may include `%1' to `%9', `%[NUM]#' and
              `%[NAME]#' to output group captures.  A `%%' outputs `%'.  See
              `ugrep --help format' and `man ugrep' section FORMAT for details.
              When option -o is specified, option -u is also enabled.  Context
              options -A, -B, -C and -y are ignored.

       --free-space
              Spacing (blanks and tabs) in regular expressions are ignored.

       -G, --basic-regexp
              Interpret patterns as basic regular expressions (BREs).

       -g GLOBS, --glob=GLOBS, --iglob=GLOBS
              Only search files whose name matches the specified comma-separated
              list of GLOBS, same as --include=glob for each `glob' in GLOBS.
              When a `glob' is preceded by a `!' or a `^', skip files whose name
              matches `glob', same as --exclude='glob'.  When `glob' contains a
              `/', full pathnames are matched.  Otherwise basenames are matched.
              When `glob' ends with a `/', directories are matched, same as
              --include-dir='glob' and --exclude-dir='glob'.  A leading `/'
              matches the working directory.  Option --iglob performs
              case-insensitive name matching.  This option may be repeated and
              may be combined with options -M, -O and -t to expand searches.
              See `ugrep --help globs' and `man ugrep' section GLOBBING for
              details.

       --glob-ignore-case
              Perform case-insensitive glob matching in general.

       --group-separator[=SEP]
              Use SEP as a group separator for context options -A, -B and -C.
              The default is a double hyphen (`--').

       --no-group-separator
              Removes the group separator line from the output for context
              options -A, -B and -C.

       -H, --with-filename
              Always print the filename with output lines.  This is the default
              when there is more than one file to search.

       -h, --no-filename
              Never print filenames with output lines.  This is the default when
              there is only one file (or only standard input) to search.

       --heading, -+
              Group matches per file.  Adds a heading and a line break between
              results from different files.  This option is enabled by --pretty
              when the output is sent to a terminal.

       --help [WHAT], -? [WHAT]
              Display a help message on options related to WHAT when specified.
              In addition, `--help regex' displays an overview of regular
              expressions, `--help globs' displays an overview of glob syntax
              and conventions.  `--help fuzzy' displays details of fuzzy search
              with option -Z and `--help format' displays a list of --format
              fields.

       --hexdump[=[1-8][a][bch][A[NUM]][B[NUM]][C[NUM]]]
              Output matches in 1 to 8 columns of 8 hexadecimal octets.  The
              default is 2 columns or 16 octets per line.  Argument `a' outputs
              a `*' for all hex lines that are identical to the previous hex
              line, `b' removes all space breaks, `c' removes the character
              column, `h' removes hex spacing, `A' includes up to NUM hex lines
              after a match, `B' includes up to NUM hex lines before a match and
              `C' includes up to NUM hex lines before and after a match.
              Arguments `A', `B' and `C' are the same as options -A, -B and -C
              when used with --hexdump.  See also options -U, -W and -X.

       --hidden, -.
              Search hidden files and directories.

       --hyperlink[=[PREFIX][+]]
              Hyperlinks are enabled for file names when colors are enabled.
              Same as --colors=hl.  When PREFIX is specified, replaces file://
              with PREFIX:// in the hyperlink.  A `+' includes the line number
              in the hyperlink and when option -k is specified, the column
              number.

       -I, --ignore-binary
              Ignore matches in binary files.  This option is equivalent to the
              --binary-files=without-match option.

       -i, --ignore-case
              Perform case insensitive matching.  By default, ugrep is case
              sensitive.  By default, this option applies to ASCII letters only.
              Use options -P and -i for Unicode case insensitive matching.

       --ignore-files[=FILE]
              Ignore files and directories matching the globs in each FILE that
              is encountered in recursive searches.  The default FILE is
              `.gitignore'.  Matching files and directories located in the
              directory of the FILE and in subdirectories below are ignored.
              Globbing syntax is the same as the --exclude-from=FILE gitignore
              syntax, but files and directories are excluded instead of only
              files.  Directories are specifically excluded when the glob ends
              in a `/'.  Files and directories explicitly specified as command
              line arguments are never ignored.  This option may be repeated to
              specify additional files.

       --no-ignore-files
              Do not ignore files, i.e. cancel --ignore-files when specified.

       --include=GLOB
              Only search files whose name matches GLOB, same as -g GLOB.  GLOB
              can use **, *, ?, and [...] as wildcards and \ to quote a wildcard
              or backslash character literally.  When GLOB contains a `/', full
              pathnames are matched.  Otherwise basenames are matched.  When
              GLOB ends with a `/', directories are included as if --include-dir
              is specified.  Otherwise files are included.  Note that --exclude
              patterns take priority over --include patterns.  GLOB should be
              quoted to prevent shell globbing.  This option may be repeated.

       --include-dir=GLOB
              Only directories whose name matches GLOB are included in recursive
              searches, same as -g GLOB/.  GLOB can use **, *, ?, and [...] as
              wildcards and \ to quote a wildcard or backslash character
              literally.  When GLOB contains a `/', full pathnames are matched.
              Otherwise basenames are matched.  Note that --exclude-dir patterns
              take priority over --include-dir patterns.  GLOB should be quoted
              to prevent shell globbing.  This option may be repeated.

       --include-from=FILE
              Read the globs from FILE and search only files and directories
              whose name matches one or more globs.  A glob can use **, *, ?,
              and [...] as wildcards and \ to quote a wildcard or backslash
              character literally.  When a glob contains a `/', full pathnames
              are matched.  Otherwise basenames are matched.  When a glob ends
              with a `/', directories are included as if --include-dir is
              specified.  Otherwise files are included.  A glob starting with a
              `!' overrides previously-specified inclusions by excluding
              matching files.  Lines starting with a `#' and empty lines in FILE
              are ignored.  When FILE is a `-', standard input is read.  This
              option may be repeated.

       --include-fs=MOUNTS
              Only file systems specified by MOUNTS are included in recursive
              searches.  MOUNTS is a comma-separated list of mount points or
              pathnames to directories.  When MOUNTS is not specified, restricts
              recursive searches to the file system of the working directory,
              same as --include-fs=. (dot). Note that --exclude-fs=MOUNTS take
              priority over --include-fs=MOUNTS.  This option may be repeated.

       --index
              Perform fast index-based recursive search.  This option assumes,
              but does not require, that files are indexed with ugrep-indexer.
              This option also enables option -r or --recursive.  Skips indexed
              non-matching files, archives and compressed files.  Significant
              acceleration may be achieved on cold (not file-cached) and large
              file systems, or any file system that is slow to search.  Note
              that the start-up time to search may be increased when complex
              search patterns are specified that contain large Unicode character
              classes combined with `*' or `+' repeats, which should be avoided.
              Option -U (--ascii) improves performance.  Option --stats displays
              an index search report.

       -J NUM, --jobs=NUM
              Specifies the number of threads spawned to search files.  By
              default an optimum number of threads is spawned to search files
              simultaneously.  -J1 disables threading: files are searched in the
              same order as specified.

       -j, --smart-case
              Perform case insensitive matching, unless a pattern is specified
              with a literal upper case ASCII letter.

       --json Output file matches in JSON.  If -H, -n, -k, or -b is specified,
              additional values are output.  See also options --format and -u.

       -K [MIN,][MAX], --range=[MIN,][MAX], --min-line=MIN, --max-line=MAX
              Start searching at line MIN, stop at line MAX when specified.

       -k, --column-number
              The column number of a pattern match is displayed in front of the
              respective matched line, starting at column 1.  Tabs are expanded
              in counting columns, see also option --tabs.

       -L, --files-without-match
              Only the names of files not containing selected lines are written
              to standard output.  Pathnames are listed once per file searched.
              If the standard input is searched, the string ``(standard input)''
              is written.

       -l, --files-with-matches
              Only the names of files containing selected lines are written to
              standard output.  ugrep will only search a file until a match has
              been found, making searches potentially less expensive.  Pathnames
              are listed once per file searched.  If the standard input is
              searched, the string ``(standard input)'' is written.

       --label=LABEL
              Displays the LABEL value when input is read from standard input
              where a file name would normally be printed in the output.
              Associates a filename extension with standard input when LABEL has
              a suffix.  The default value is `(standard input)'.

       --line-buffered
              Force output to be line buffered instead of block buffered.

       --lines
              Boolean line matching mode for option --bool, the default mode.

       -M MAGIC, --file-magic=MAGIC
              Only search files matching the magic signature pattern MAGIC.  The
              signature "magic bytes" at the start of a file are compared to the
              MAGIC regex pattern.  When matching, the file will be searched.
              When MAGIC is preceded by a `!' or a `^', skip files with matching
              MAGIC signatures.  This option may be repeated and may be combined
              with options -O and -t to expand the search.  Every file on the
              search path is read, making searches potentially more expensive.

       -m [MIN,][MAX], --min-count=MIN, --max-count=MAX
              Require MIN matches, stop after MAX matches when specified.
              Output MIN to MAX matches.  For example, -m1 outputs the first
              match and -cm1, (with a comma) counts nonzero matches.  If -u is
              specified, each individual match counts.  See also option -K.

       --match
              Match all input.  Same as specifying an empty pattern to search.

       --max-files=NUM
              Restrict the number of files matched to NUM.  Note that --sort or
              -J1 may be specified to produce replicable results.  If --sort is
              specified, the number of threads spawned is limited to NUM.

       --mmap[=MAX]
              Use memory maps to search files.  By default, memory maps are used
              under certain conditions to improve performance.  When MAX is
              specified, use up to MAX mmap memory per thread.

       -N PATTERN, --neg-regexp=PATTERN
              Specify a negative PATTERN to reject specific -e PATTERN matches
              with a counter pattern.  Note that longer patterns take precedence
              over shorter patterns, i.e. a negative pattern must be of the same
              length or longer to reject matching patterns.  Option -N cannot be
              specified with -P.  This option may be repeated.

       -n, --line-number
              Each output line is preceded by its relative line number in the
              file, starting at line 1.  The line number counter is reset for
              each file processed.

       --not [-e] PATTERN
              Specifies that PATTERN should not match.  Note that -e A --not -e
              B matches lines with `A' or lines without a `B'.  To match lines
              with `A' that have no `B', specify -e A --andnot -e B.  Option
              --stats displays the search patterns applied.  See also options
              --and, --andnot, --bool, --files and --lines.

       -O EXTENSIONS, --file-extension=EXTENSIONS
              Only search files whose filename extensions match the specified
              comma-separated list of EXTENSIONS, same as -g '*.ext' for each
              `ext' in EXTENSIONS.  When an `ext' is preceded by a `!' or a `^',
              skip files whose filename extensions matches `ext', same as -g
              '^*.ext'.  This option may be repeated and may be combined with
              options -g, -M and -t to expand the recursive search.

       -o, --only-matching
              Only the matching part of a pattern match is output.  If -A, -B or
              -C is specified, fits the match and its context on a line within
              the specified number of columns.

       --only-line-number
              Only the line number of a matching line is output.  The line
              number counter is reset for each file processed.

       --files, -%%
              Boolean file matching mode, the opposite of --lines.  When
              combined with option --bool, matches a file if all Boolean
              conditions are satisfied.  For example, --bool --files 'A B|C -D'
              matches a file if some lines match `A', and some lines match
              either `B' or `C', and no line matches `D'.  See also options
              --and, --andnot, --not, --bool and --lines.  The double short
              option -%% enables options --bool --files.

       -P, --perl-regexp
              Interpret PATTERN as a Perl regular expression using PCRE2.  Note
              that Perl pattern matching differs from the default grep POSIX
              pattern matching.

       -p, --no-dereference
              If -R or -r is specified, do not follow symbolic links, even when
              symbolic links are specified on the command line.

       --pager[=COMMAND]
              When output is sent to the terminal, uses COMMAND to page through
              the output.  COMMAND defaults to environment variable PAGER when
              defined or `less'.  Enables --heading and --line-buffered.

       --pretty[=WHEN]
              When output is sent to a terminal, enables --color, --heading, -n,
              --sort, --tree and -T when not explicitly disabled.  WHEN can be
              `never', `always', or `auto'.  The default is `auto'.

       -Q[=DELAY], --query[=DELAY]
              Query mode: start a TUI to perform interactive searches.  This
              mode requires an ANSI capable terminal.  An optional DELAY
              argument may be specified to reduce or increase the response time
              to execute searches after the last key press, in increments of
              100ms, where the default is 3 (300ms delay).  No whitespace may be
              given between -Q and its argument DELAY.  Initial patterns may be
              specified with -e PATTERN, i.e. a PATTERN argument requires option
              -e.  Press F1 or CTRL-Z to view the help screen.  Press F2 or
              CTRL-Y to invoke a command to view or edit the file shown at the
              top of the screen.  The command can be specified with option
              --view and defaults to environment variable PAGER when defined, or
              VISUAL or EDITOR.  Press Tab or Shift-Tab to navigate directories
              and to select a file to search.  Press Enter to select lines to
              output.  Press ALT-l for option -l to list files, ALT-n for -n,
              etc.  Non-option commands include ALT-] to increase context and
              ALT-} to increase fuzzyness.  See also options --no-confirm,
              --delay, --split and --view.

       -q, --quiet, --silent
              Quiet mode: suppress all output.  Only search a file until a match
              has been found.

       -R, --dereference-recursive
              Recursively read all files under each directory, following
              symbolic links to files and directories, unlike -r.

       -r, --recursive
              Recursively read all files under each directory, following
              symbolic links only if they are on the command line.  Note that
              when no FILE arguments are specified and input is read from a
              terminal, recursive searches are performed as if -r is specified.

       --replace=FORMAT
              Replace matching patterns in the output by FORMAT with `%' fields.
              If -P is specified, FORMAT may include `%1' to `%9', `%[NUM]#' and
              `%[NAME]#' to output group captures.  A `%%' outputs `%' and `%~'
              outputs a newline.  See also option --format, `ugrep --help
              format' and `man ugrep' section FORMAT for details.

       -S, --dereference-files
              When -r is specified, follow symbolic links to files, but not to
              directories.  The default is not to follow symbolic links.

       -s, --no-messages
              Silent mode: nonexistent and unreadable files are ignored and
              their error messages and warnings are suppressed.

       --save-config[=FILE] [OPTIONS]
              Save configuration FILE to include OPTIONS.  Update FILE when
              first loaded with --config=FILE.  The default FILE is `.ugrep',
              which is automatically loaded by the ug command.  When FILE is a
              `-', writes the configuration to standard output.  Only part of
              the OPTIONS are saved that do not cause searches to fail when
              combined with other options.  Additional options may be specified
              by editing the saved configuration file.  A configuration file may
              be modified manually to specify one or more config[=FILE] to
              indirectly load the specified FILE, but recursive config loading
              is not allowed.

       --separator[=SEP], --context-separator=SEP
              Use SEP as field separator between file name, line number, column
              number, byte offset and the matched line.  The default separator
              is a colon (`:') and a bar (`|') for multi-line pattern matches,
              and a dash (`-') for context lines.  See also option
              --group-separator.

       --split
              Split the -Q query TUI screen on startup.

       --sort[=KEY]
              Displays matching files in the order specified by KEY in recursive
              searches.  Normally the ug command sorts by name whereas the ugrep
              batch command displays matches in no particular order to improve
              performance.  The sort KEY can be `name' to sort by pathname
              (default), `best' to sort by best match with option -Z (sort by
              best match requires two passes over files, which is expensive),
              `size' to sort by file size, `used' to sort by last access time,
              `changed' to sort by last modification time and `created' to sort
              by creation time.  Sorting is reversed with `rname', `rbest',
              `rsize', `rused', `rchanged', or `rcreated'.  Archive contents are
              not sorted.  Subdirectories are sorted and displayed after
              matching files.  FILE arguments are searched in the same order as
              specified.

       --stats
              Output statistics on the number of files and directories searched
              and the inclusion and exclusion constraints applied.

       -T, --initial-tab
              Add a tab space to separate the file name, line number, column
              number and byte offset with the matched line.

       -t TYPES, --file-type=TYPES
              Search only files associated with TYPES, a comma-separated list of
              file types.  Each file type corresponds to a set of filename
              extensions passed to option -O and filenames passed to option -g.
              For capitalized file types, the search is expanded to include
              files with matching file signature magic bytes, as if passed to
              option -M.  When a type is preceded by a `!' or a `^', excludes
              files of the specified type.  Specifying the initial part of a
              type name suffices when the choice is unambiguous.  This option
              may be repeated.  The possible file types can be (-tlist displays
              a list): `actionscript', `ada', `asm', `asp', `aspx', `autoconf',
              `automake', `awk', `Awk', `basic', `batch', `bison', `c', `c++',
              `clojure', `cpp', `csharp', `css', `csv', `dart', `Dart',
              `delphi', `elisp', `elixir', `erlang', `fortran', `gif', `Gif',
              `go', `groovy', `gsp', `haskell', `html', `jade', `java', `jpeg',
              `Jpeg', `js', `json', `jsp', `julia', `kotlin', `less', `lex',
              `lisp', `lua', `m4', `make', `markdown', `matlab', `node', `Node',
              `objc', `objc++', `ocaml', `parrot', `pascal', `pdf', `Pdf',
              `perl', `Perl', `php', `Php', `png', `Png', `prolog', `python',
              `Python', `r', `rpm', `Rpm', `rst', `rtf', `Rtf', `ruby', `Ruby',
              `rust', `scala', `scheme', `shell', `Shell', `smalltalk', `sql',
              `svg', `swift', `tcl', `tex', `text', `tiff', `Tiff', `tt',
              `typescript', `verilog', `vhdl', `vim', `xml', `Xml', `yacc',
              `yaml', `zig'.

       --tabs[=NUM]
              Set the tab size to NUM to expand tabs for option -k.  The value
              of NUM may be 1 (no expansion), 2, 4, or 8.  The default size is
              8.

       --tag[=TAG[,END]]
              Disables colors to mark up matches with TAG.  END marks the end of
              a match if specified, otherwise TAG.  The default is `___'.

       --tree, -^
              Output directories with matching files in a tree-like format for
              option -c or --count, -l or --files-with-matches, -L or
              --files-without-match.  This option is enabled by --pretty when
              the output is sent to a terminal.

       -U, --ascii, --binary
              Disables Unicode matching for ASCII and binary matching.  PATTERN
              matches bytes, not Unicode characters.  For example, -U '\xa3'
              matches byte A3 (hex) instead of the Unicode code point U+00A3
              represented by the UTF-8 sequence C2 A3.  See also option
              --dotall.

       -u, --ungroup
              Do not group multiple pattern matches on the same matched line.
              Output the matched line again for each additional pattern match.

       -V, --version
              Display version with linked libraries and exit.

       -v, --invert-match
              Selected lines are those not matching any of the specified
              patterns.

       --view[=COMMAND]
              Use COMMAND to view/edit a file in -Q query TUI by pressing
              CTRL-Y.

       -W, --with-hex
              Output binary matches in hexadecimal, leaving text matches alone.
              This option is equivalent to the --binary-files=with-hex option.
              To omit the matching line from the hex output, use both options -W
              and --hexdump.  See also options -U.

       -w, --word-regexp
              The PATTERN is searched for as a word, such that the matching text
              is preceded by a non-word character and is followed by a non-word
              character.  Word-like characters are Unicode letters, digits and
              connector punctuations such as underscore.

       --width[=NUM]
              Truncate the output to NUM visible characters per line.  The width
              of the terminal window is used if NUM is not specified.  Note that
              double wide characters in the output may result in wider lines.

       -X, --hex
              Output matches and matching lines in hexadecimal.  This option is
              equivalent to the --binary-files=hex option.  To omit the matching
              line from the hex output use option --hexdump.  See also option
              -U.

       -x, --line-regexp
              Select only those matches that exactly match the whole line, as if
              the patterns are surrounded by ^ and $.

       --xml  Output file matches in XML.  If -H, -n, -k, or -b is specified,
              additional values are output.  See also options --format and -u.

       -Y, --empty
              Permits empty matches.  By default, empty matches are disabled,
              unless a pattern begins with `^' or ends with `$'.  With this
              option, empty-matching patterns such as x? and x*, match all
              input, not only lines containing the character `x'.

       -y, --any-line, --passthru
              Any line is output (passthru).  Non-matching lines are output as
              context with a `-' separator.  See also options -A, -B and -C.

       -Z[best][+-~][MAX], --fuzzy[=[best][+-~][MAX]]
              Fuzzy mode: report approximate pattern matches within MAX errors.
              The default is -Z1: one deletion, insertion or substitution is
              allowed.  If `+`, `-' and/or `~' is specified, then `+' allows
              insertions, `-' allows deletions and `~' allows substitutions.
              For example, -Z+~3 allows up to three insertions or substitutions,
              but no deletions.  If `best' is specified, then only the best
              matching lines are output with the lowest cost per file.  Option
              -Zbest requires two passes over a file and cannot be used with
              standard input or Boolean queries.  Option --sort=best orders
              matching files by best match.  The first character of an
              approximate match always matches a character at the beginning of
              the pattern.  To fuzzy match the first character, replace it with
              a `.' or `.?'.  Option -U applies fuzzy matching to ASCII and
              bytes instead of Unicode text.  No whitespace may be given between
              -Z and its argument.

       -z, --decompress
              Search compressed files and archives.  Archives (.cpio, .pax,
              .tar) and compressed archives (e.g. .zip, .7z, .taz, .tgz, .tpz,
              .tbz, .tbz2, .tb2, .tz2, .tlz, .txz, .tzst) are searched and
              matching pathnames of files in archives are output in braces.
              When used with option --zmax=NUM, searches the contents of
              compressed files and archives stored within archives up to NUM
              levels.  If -g, -O, -M, or -t is specified, searches files stored
              in archives whose filenames match globs, match filename
              extensions, match file signature magic bytes, or match file types,
              respectively.  Supported compression formats: gzip (.gz), compress
              (.Z), zip, 7z, bzip2 (requires suffix .bz, .bz2, .bzip2, .tbz,
              .tbz2, .tb2, .tz2), lzma and xz (requires suffix .lzma, .tlz, .xz,
              .txz), lz4 (requires suffix .lz4), zstd (requires suffix .zst,
              .zstd, .tzst), brotli (requires suffix .br).

       --zmax=NUM
              When used with option -z (--decompress), searches the contents of
              compressed files and archives stored within archives by up to NUM
              expansion stages.  The default --zmax=1 only permits searching
              uncompressed files stored in cpio, pax, tar, zip and 7z archives;
              compressed files and archives are detected as binary files and are
              effectively ignored.  Specify --zmax=2 to search compressed files
              and archives stored in cpio, pax, tar, zip and 7z archives.  NUM
              may range from 1 to 99 for up to 99 decompression and de-archiving
              steps.  Increasing NUM values gradually degrades performance.

       -0, --null
              Output a zero-byte (NUL) after the file name.  This option can be
              used with commands such as `find -print0' and `xargs -0' to
              process arbitrary file names.

EXIT STATUS
       The ugrep utility exits with one of the following values:

       0      One or more lines were selected.

       1      No lines were selected.

       >1     An error occurred.

       If -q or --quiet or --silent is used and a line is selected, the exit
       status is 0 even if an error occurred.

CONFIGURATION
       The ug command is intended for context-dependent interactive searching
       and is equivalent to the ugrep --config --pretty --sort command to load
       the default configuration file `.ugrep' when present in the working
       directory or in the home directory.

       A configuration file contains `NAME=VALUE' pairs per line, where `NAME`
       is the name of a long option (without `--') and `=VALUE' is an argument,
       which is optional and may be omitted depending on the option.  Empty
       lines and lines starting with a `#' are ignored.

       The --config=FILE option and its abbreviated form ---FILE load the
       specified configuration file located in the working directory or, when
       not found, located in the home directory.  An error is produced when FILE
       is not found or cannot be read.

       Command line options are parsed in the following order: the configuration
       file is loaded first, followed by the remaining options and arguments on
       the command line.

       The --save-config option saves a `.ugrep' configuration file to the
       working directory with a subset of the options specified on the command
       line.  The --save-config=FILE option saves the configuration to FILE.
       The configuration is written to standard output when FILE is a `-'.

GLOBBING
       Globbing is used by options -g, --include, --include-dir, --include-from,
       --exclude, --exclude-dir, --exclude-from and --ignore-files to match
       pathnames and basenames in recursive searches.  Glob arguments for these
       options should be quoted to prevent shell globbing.

       Globbing supports gitignore syntax and the corresponding matching rules,
       except that a glob normally matches files but not directories.  If a glob
       ends in a path separator `/', then it matches directories but not files,
       as if --include-dir or --exclude-dir is specified.  When a glob contains
       a path separator `/', the full pathname is matched.  Otherwise the
       basename of a file or directory is matched.  For example, *.h matches
       foo.h and bar/foo.h.  bar/*.h matches bar/foo.h but not foo.h and not
       bar/bar/foo.h.  Use a leading `/' to force /*.h to match foo.h but not
       bar/foo.h.

       When a glob starts with a `^' or a `!' as in -g^GLOB, the match is
       negated.  Likewise, a `!' (but not a `^') may be used with globs in the
       files specified --include-from, --exclude-from, and --ignore-files to
       negate the glob match.  Empty lines or lines starting with a `#' are
       ignored.

       Glob Syntax and Conventions

       *      Matches anything except /.

       ?      Matches any one character except /.

       [abc-e]
              Matches one character a,b,c,d,e.

       [^abc-e]
              Matches one character not a,b,c,d,e,/.

       [!abc-e]
              Matches one character not a,b,c,d,e,/.

       /      When used at the start of a glob, matches if pathname has no /.
              When used at the end of a glob, matches directories only.

       **/    Matches zero or more directories.

       /**    When used at the end of a glob, matches everything after the /.

       \?     Matches a ? or any other character specified after the backslash.

       Glob Matching Examples

       *      Matches a, b, x/a, x/y/b

       a      Matches a, x/a, x/y/a,       but not b, x/b, a/a/b

       /*     Matches a, b,                but not x/a, x/b, x/y/a

       /a     Matches a,                   but not x/a, x/y/a

       a?b    Matches axb, ayb,            but not a, b, ab, a/b

       a[xy]b Matches axb, ayb             but not a, b, azb

       a[a-z]b
              Matches aab, abb, acb, azb,  but not a, b, a3b, aAb, aZb

       a[^xy]b
              Matches aab, abb, acb, azb,  but not a, b, axb, ayb

       a[^a-z]b
              Matches a3b, aAb, aZb        but not a, b, aab, abb, acb, azb

       a/*/b  Matches a/x/b, a/y/b,        but not a/b, a/x/y/b

       **/a   Matches a, x/a, x/y/a,       but not b, x/b.

       a/**/b Matches a/b, a/x/b, a/x/y/b, but not x/a/b, a/b/x

       a/**   Matches a/x, a/y, a/x/y,     but not a, b/x

       a\?b   Matches a?b,                 but not a, b, ab, axb, a/b

       Note that exclude glob patterns take priority over include glob patterns
       when specified with options -g, --exclude, --exclude-dir, --include and
       include-dir.

       Glob patterns specified with prefix `!' in any of the files associated
       with --include-from, --exclude-from and --ignore-files will negate a
       previous glob match.  That is, any matching file or directory excluded by
       a previous glob pattern specified in the files associated with --exclude-
       from or --ignore-file will become included again.  Likewise, any matching
       file or directory included by a previous glob pattern specified in the
       files associated with --include-from will become excluded again.

ENVIRONMENT
       GREP_PATH
              May be used to specify a file path to pattern files.  The file
              path is used by option -f to open a pattern file, when the pattern
              file does not exist.

       GREP_COLOR
              May be used to specify ANSI SGR parameters to highlight matches
              when option --color is used, e.g. 1;35;40 shows pattern matches in
              bold magenta text on a black background.  Deprecated in favor of
              GREP_COLORS, but still supported.

       GREP_COLORS
              May be used to specify ANSI SGR parameters to highlight matches
              and other attributes when option --color is used.  Its value is a
              colon-separated list of ANSI SGR parameters that defaults to
              cx=33:mt=1;31:fn=1;35:ln=1;32:cn=1;32:bn=1;32:se=36 with
              additional parameters for TUI colors
              :qp=1;32:qe=1;37;41:qm=1;32:ql=36:qb=1;35.  The mt=, ms=, and mc=
              capabilities of GREP_COLORS take priority over GREP_COLOR.  Option
              --colors takes priority over GREP_COLORS.

GREP_COLORS
       Colors are specified as string of colon-separated ANSI SGR parameters of
       the form `what=substring', where `substring' is a semicolon-separated
       list of ANSI SGR codes or `k' (black), `r' (red), `g' (green), `y'
       (yellow), `b' (blue), `m' (magenta), `c' (cyan), `w' (white).  Upper case
       specifies background colors.  A `+' qualifies a color as bright.  A
       foreground and a background color may be combined with one or more font
       properties `n' (normal), `f' (faint), `h' (highlight), `i' (invert), `u'
       (underline).  Substrings may be specified for:

       sl=    selected lines.

       cx=    context lines.

       rv     swaps the sl= and cx= capabilities when -v is specified.

       mt=    matching text in any matching line.

       ms=    matching text in a selected line.  The substring mt= by default.

       mc=    matching text in a context line.  The substring mt= by default.

       fn=    filenames.

       ln=    line numbers.

       cn=    column numbers.

       bn=    byte offsets.

       se=    separators.

       rv     a Boolean parameter, switches sl= and cx= with option -v.

       hl     a Boolean parameter, enables filename hyperlinks (\33]8;;link).

       ne     a Boolean parameter, disables ``erase in line'' \33[K.

       qp=    TUI prompt.

       qe=    TUI errors.

       qr=    TUI regex.

       qm=    TUI regex meta characters.

       ql=    TUI regex lists and literals.

       qb=    TUI regex braces.

FORMAT
       Option --format=FORMAT specifies an output format for file matches.
       Fields may be used in FORMAT, which expand into the following values:

       %[TEXT]F
              if option -H is used: TEXT, the file pathname and separator.

       %f     the file pathname.

       %a     the file basename without directory path.

       %p     the directory path to the file.

       %z     the file pathname in a (compressed) archive.

       %[TEXT]H
              if option -H is used: TEXT, the quoted pathname and separator, \"
              and \\ replace " and \.

       %h     the quoted file pathname, \" and \\ replace " and \.

       %[TEXT]I
              if option -H is used: TEXT, the pathname as XML character data and
              separator.

       %i     the file pathname as XML character data.

       %[TEXT]N
              if option -n is used: TEXT, the line number and separator.

       %n     the line number of the match.

       %[TEXT]K
              if option -k is used: TEXT, the column number and separator.

       %k     the column number of the match.

       %[TEXT]B
              if option -b is used: TEXT, the byte offset and separator.

       %b     the byte offset of the match.

       %[TEXT]T
              if option -T is used: TEXT and a tab character.

       %t     a tab character.

       %[SEP]$
              set field separator to SEP for the rest of the format fields.

       %[TEXT]<
              if the first match: TEXT.

       %[TEXT]>
              if not the first match: TEXT.

       %,     if not the first match: a comma, same as %[,]>.

       %:     if not the first match: a colon, same as %[:]>.

       %;     if not the first match: a semicolon, same as %[;]>.

       %|     if not the first match: a vertical bar, same as %[|]>.

       %[TEXT]S
              if not the first match: TEXT and separator, see also %[SEP]$.

       %s     the separator, see also %[TEXT]S and %[SEP]$.

       %~     a newline character.

       %M     the number of matching lines

       %m     the number of matches

       %O     the matching line is output as a raw string of bytes.

       %o     the match is output as a raw string of bytes.

       %Q     the matching line as a quoted string, \" and \\ replace " and \.

       %q     the match as a quoted string, \" and \\ replace " and \.

       %C     the matching line formatted as a quoted C/C++ string.

       %c     the match formatted as a quoted C/C++ string.

       %J     the matching line formatted as a quoted JSON string.

       %j     the match formatted as a quoted JSON string.

       %V     the matching line formatted as a quoted CSV string.

       %v     the match formatted as a quoted CSV string.

       %X     the matching line formatted as XML character data.

       %x     the match formatted as XML character data.

       %w     the width of the match, counting wide characters.

       %d     the size of the match, counting bytes.

       %e     the ending byte offset of the match.

       %Z     the edit distance cost of an approximate match with option -Z

       %u     select unique lines only, unless option -u is used.

       %1     the first regex group capture of the match, and so on up to group
              %9, same as %[1]#; requires option -P.

       %[NUM]#
              the regex group capture NUM; requires option -P.

       %[NUM]b
              the byte offset of the group capture NUM; requires option -P.  Use
              e for the ending byte offset and d for the byte length.

       %[NUM1|NUM2|...]#
              the first group capture NUM that matched; requires option -P.

       %[NUM1|NUM2|...]b
              the byte offset of the first group capture NUM that matched;
              requires option -P.  Use e for the ending byte offset and d for
              the byte length.

       %[NAME]#
              the NAMEd group capture; requires option -P and capturing pattern
              `(?<NAME>PATTERN)', see also %G.

       %[NAME]b
              the byte offset of the NAMEd group capture; requires option -P and
              capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)'.  Use e for the ending byte
              offset and d for the byte length.

       %[NAME1|NAME2|...]#
              the first NAMEd group capture that matched; requires option -P and
              capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)', see also %G.

       %[NAME1|NAME2|...]b
              the byte offset of the first NAMEd group capture that matched;
              requires option -P and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)'.  Use
              e for the ending byte offset and d for the byte length.

       %G     list of group capture indices/names that matched; requires option
              -P.

       %[TEXT1|TEXT2|...]G
              list of TEXT indexed by group capture indices that matched;
              requires option -P.

       %g     the group capture index/name matched or 1; requires option -P.

       %[TEXT1|TEXT2|...]g
              the first TEXT indexed by the first group capture index that
              matched; requires option -P.

       %%     the percentage sign.

       Formatted output is written without a terminating newline, unless %~ or
       `\n' is explicitly specified in the format string.

       The [TEXT] part of a field is optional and may be omitted.  When present,
       the argument must be placed in [] brackets, for example %[,]F to output a
       comma, the pathname, and a separator.

       %[SEP]$ and %u are switches and do not send anything to the output.

       The separator used by the %F, %H, %I, %N, %K, %B, %S and %G fields may be
       changed by preceding the field by %[SEP]$.  When [SEP] is not provided,
       this reverts the separator to the default separator or the separator
       specified with --separator.

       Formatted output is written for each matching pattern, which means that a
       line may be output multiple times when patterns match more than once on
       the same line.  If field %u is specified anywhere in a format string,
       matching lines are output only once, unless option -u, --ungroup is
       specified or when more than one line of input matched the search pattern.

       Additional formatting options:

       --format-begin=FORMAT
              the FORMAT when beginning the search.

       --format-open=FORMAT
              the FORMAT when opening a file and a match was found.

       --format-close=FORMAT
              the FORMAT when closing a file and a match was found.

       --format-end=FORMAT
              the FORMAT when ending the search.

       The context options -A, -B, -C, -y, and display options --break,
       --heading, --color, -T, and --null have no effect on formatted output.

EXAMPLES
       Display lines containing the word `patricia' in `myfile.txt':

              $ ugrep -w patricia myfile.txt

       Display lines containing the word `patricia', ignoring case:

              $ ugrep -wi patricia myfile.txt

       Display lines approximately matching the word `patricia', ignoring case
       and allowing up to 2 spelling errors using fuzzy search:

              $ ugrep -Z2 -wi patricia myfile.txt

       Count the number of lines containing `patricia', ignoring case:

              $ ugrep -cwi patricia myfile.txt

       Count the number of words `patricia', ignoring case:

              $ ugrep -cowi patricia myfile.txt

       List lines with `amount' and a decimal, ignoring case (space is AND):

              $ ugrep -i -% 'amount +(.+)?' myfile.txt

       Alternative query:

              $ ugrep -wi -e amount --and '+(.+)?' myfile.txt

       List all Unicode words in a file:

              $ ugrep -o '\w+' myfile.txt

       List the laughing face emojis (Unicode code points U+1F600 to U+1F60F):

              $ ugrep -o '[\x{1F600}-\x{1F60F}]' myfile.txt

       Check if a file contains any non-ASCII (i.e. Unicode) characters:

              $ ugrep -q '[^[:ascii:]]' myfile.txt && echo "contains Unicode"

       Display the line and column number of `FIXME' in C++ files using
       recursive search, with one line of context before and after a matched
       line:

              $ ugrep -C1 -R -n -k -tc++ FIXME

       Display the line and column number of `FIXME' in long Javascript files
       using recursive search, showing only matches with up to 10 characters of
       context before and after:

              $ ugrep -o -C20 -R -n -k -tjs FIXME


       Find blocks of text between lines matching BEGIN and END by using a lazy
       quantifier `*?' to match only what is necessary and pattern `\n' to match
       newlines:

              $ ugrep -n 'BEGIN.*\n(.*\n)*?.*END' myfile.txt

       Likewise, list the C/C++ comments in a file and line numbers:

              $ ugrep -n -e '//.*' -e '/\*(.*\n)*?.*\*+\/' myfile.cpp

       The same, but using predefined pattern c++/comments:

              $ ugrep -n -f c++/comments myfile.cpp

       List the lines that need fixing in a C/C++ source file by looking for the
       word `FIXME' while skipping any `FIXME' in quoted strings:

              $ ugrep -e FIXME -N '"(\\.|\\\r?\n|[^\\\n"])*"' myfile.cpp

       The same, but using predefined pattern cpp/zap_strings:

              $ ugrep -e FIXME -f cpp/zap_strings myfile.cpp

       Find lines with `FIXME' or `TODO', showing line numbers:

              $ ugrep -n -e FIXME -e TODO myfile.cpp

       Find lines with `FIXME' that also contain `urgent':

              $ ugrep -n -e FIXME --and urgent myfile.cpp

       The same, but with a Boolean query pattern (a space is AND):

              $ ugrep -n -% 'FIXME urgent' myfile.cpp

       Find lines with `FIXME' that do not also contain `later':

              $ ugrep -n -e FIXME --andnot later myfile.cpp

       The same, but with a Boolean query pattern (a space is AND, - is NOT):

              $ ugrep -n -% 'FIXME -later' myfile.cpp

       Output a list of line numbers of lines with `FIXME' but not `later':

              $ ugrep -e FIXME --andnot later --format='%,%n' myfile.cpp

       Recursively list all files with both `FIXME' and `LICENSE' anywhere in
       the file, not necessarily on the same line:

              $ ugrep -l -%% 'FIXME LICENSE'

       Find lines with `FIXME' in the C/C++ files stored in a tarball:

              $ ugrep -z -tc++ -n FIXME project.tgz

       Recursively find lines with `FIXME' in C/C++ files, but do not search any
       `bak' and `old' directories:

              $ ugrep -n FIXME -tc++ -g^bak/,^old/

       Recursively search for the word `copyright' in cpio, jar, pax, tar, zip,
       7z archives, compressed and regular files, and in PDFs using a PDF
       filter:

              $ ugrep -z -w --filter='pdf:pdftotext % -' copyright

       Match the binary pattern `A3hhhhA3' (hex) in a binary file without
       Unicode pattern matching -U (which would otherwise match `\xaf' as a
       Unicode character U+00A3 with UTF-8 byte sequence C2 A3) and display the
       results in hex with --hexdump with C1 to output one hex line before and
       after each match:

              $ ugrep -U --hexdump=C1 '\xa3[\x00-\xff]{2}\xa3' a.out

       Hexdump an entire file using a pager for viewing:

              $ ugrep -X --pager '' a.out

       List all files that are not ignored by one or more `.gitignore':

              $ ugrep -l '' --ignore-files

       List all files containing a RPM signature, located in the `rpm' directory
       and recursively below up to two levels deeper (3 levels total):

              $ ugrep -3 -l -tRpm '' rpm/

       Monitor the system log for bug reports and ungroup multiple matches on a
       line:

              $ tail -f /var/log/system.log | ugrep -u -i -w bug

       Interactive fuzzy search with Boolean search queries:

              $ ugrep -Q -l -% -Z3 --sort=best

       Display all words in a MacRoman-encoded file that has CR newlines:

              $ ugrep --encoding=MACROMAN '\w+' mac.txt

       Display options related to "fuzzy" searching:

              $ ugrep --help fuzzy

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright (c) 2021,2024 Robert A. van Engelen <[email protected]>

       ugrep is released under the BSD-3 license.  All parts of the software
       have reasonable copyright terms permitting free redistribution.  This
       includes the ability to reuse all or parts of the ugrep source tree.

SEE ALSO
       ugrep-indexer(1), grep(1), zgrep(1).

BUGS
       Report bugs at: <https://github.com/Genivia/ugrep/issues>



ugrep 7.0.4                     November 12, 2024                       UGREP(1)

🔝 Back to table of contents

Regex patterns

For PCRE regex patterns with option -P, please see the PCRE documentation https://www.pcre.org/original/doc/html/pcrepattern.html. The pattern syntax has more features than the pattern syntax described below. For the patterns in common the syntax and meaning are the same.

Note that [[:space:]] and \s and inverted bracket lists [^...] are modified in ugrep to prevent matching newlines \n. This modification is done to replicate the behavior of grep.

POSIX regular expression syntax

An empty pattern is a special case that matches everything except empty files, i.e. does not match zero-length files, as per POSIX.1 grep standard.

A regex pattern is an extended set of regular expressions (ERE), with nested sub-expression patterns φ and ψ:

Pattern	Matches
`x`	matches the character `x`, where `x` is not a special character
`.`	matches any single character except newline (unless in dotall mode)
`\.`	matches `.` (dot), special characters are escaped with a backslash
`\n`	matches a newline, others are `\a` (BEL), `\b` (BS), `\t` (HT), `\v` (VT), `\f` (FF), and `\r` (CR)
`\0`	matches the NUL character
`\cX`	matches the control character `X` mod 32 (e.g. `\cA` is `\x01`)
`\0141`	matches an 8-bit character with octal value `141`, i.e. `a`
`\x7f`	matches an 8-bit character with hexadecimal value `7f`
`\x{3B1}`	matches Unicode character U+03B1, i.e. `α`
`\u{3B1}`	matches Unicode character U+03B1, i.e. `α`
`\o{141}`	matches Unicode character U+0061, i.e. `a`, in octal
`\p{C}`	matches a character in Unicode category C
`\Q...\E`	matches the quoted content between `\Q` and `\E` literally
`[abc]`	matches one of `a`, `b`, or `c`
`[0-9]`	matches a digit `0` to `9`
`[^0-9]`	matches any character except a digit and excluding `\n`
`φ?`	matches `φ` zero or one time (optional)
`φ*`	matches `φ` zero or more times (repetition)
`φ+`	matches `φ` one or more times (repetition)
`φ{2,5}`	matches `φ` two to five times (repetition)
`φ{2,}`	matches `φ` at least two times (repetition)
`φ{2}`	matches `φ` exactly two times (repetition)
`φ??`	matches `φ` zero or once as needed (lazy optional)
`φ*?`	matches `φ` a minimum number of times as needed (lazy repetition)
`φ+?`	matches `φ` a minimum number of times at least once as needed (lazy repetition)
`φ{2,5}?`	matches `φ` two to five times as needed (lazy repetition)
`φ{2,}?`	matches `φ` at least two times or more as needed (lazy repetition)
`φψ`	matches `φ` then matches `ψ` (concatenation)
`φ⎮ψ`	matches `φ` or matches `ψ` (alternation)
`(φ)`	matches `φ` as a group
`(?:φ)`	matches `φ` as a group without capture
`(?=φ)`	matches `φ` without consuming it, i.e. lookahead (without option `-P`: nothing may occur after `(?=φ)`)
`(?^φ)`	matches `φ` and ignores it, marking everything in the pattern as a non-match
`^φ`	matches `φ` at the start of input or start of a line (nothing may occur before `^`)
`φ$`	matches `φ` at the end of input or end of a line (nothing may occur after `$`)
`\Aφ`	matches `φ` at the start of input (nothing may occur before `\A`)
`φ\z`	matches `φ` at the end of input (nothing may occur after `\z`)
`\bφ`	matches `φ` starting at a word boundary (without option `-P`: nothing may occur before `\b`)
`φ\b`	matches `φ` ending at a word boundary (without option `-P`: nothing may occur after `\b`)
`\Bφ`	matches `φ` starting at a non-word boundary (without option `-P`: nothing may occur before `\B`)
`φ\B`	matches `φ` ending at a non-word boundary (without option `-P`: nothing may occur after `\B`)
`\<φ`	matches `φ` that starts a word (without option `-P`: nothing may occur before `\<`)
`\>φ`	matches `φ` that starts a non-word (without option `-P`: nothing may occur before `\>`)
`φ\<`	matches `φ` that ends a non-word (without option `-P`: nothing may occur after `\<`)
`φ\>`	matches `φ` that ends a word (without option `-P`: nothing may occur after `\>`)
`(?i:φ)`	matches `φ` ignoring case
`(?s:φ)`	`.` (dot) in `φ` matches newline
`(?x:φ)`	ignore all whitespace and comments in `φ`
`(?#:X)`	all of `X` is skipped as a comment

The order of precedence for composing larger patterns from sub-patterns is as follows, from high to low precedence:

Characters, character classes (bracket expressions), escapes, quotation
Grouping (φ), (?:φ), (?=φ), and inline modifiers (?imsux:φ)
Quantifiers ?, *, +, {n,m}
Concatenation φψ
Anchoring ^, $, \<, \>, \b, \B, \A, \z
Alternation φ|ψ
Global modifiers (?imsux)φ

🔝 Back to table of contents

POSIX and Unicode character classes

Character classes in bracket lists represent sets of characters. Sets can be negated (inverted), subtracted, intersected, and merged (not supported by PCRE2 with option -P):

Pattern	Matches
`[a-zA-Z]`	matches a letter
`[^a-zA-Z]`	matches a non-letter (character class negation), newlines are not matched
`[a-z−−[aeiou]]`	matches a consonant (character class subtraction)
`[a-z&&[^aeiou]]`	matches a consonant (character class intersection)
`[a-z⎮⎮[A-Z]]`	matches a letter (character class union)

Bracket lists cannot be empty, so [] and [^] are invalid. In fact, the first character after the bracket is always part of the list. So [][] is a list that matches a ] and a [, [^][] is a list that matches anything but ] and [, and [-^] is a list that matches a - and a ^.

Negated character classes such as [^a-z] do not match newlines for compatibility with traditional grep pattern matching.

🔝 Back to table of contents

POSIX and Unicode character categories

The POSIX form can only be used in bracket lists, for example [[:lower:][:digit:]] matches an ASCII lower case letter or a digit.

You can also use the \p{C} form for class C and upper case \P{C} form that has the same meaning as \p{^C}, which matches any character except characters in the class C. For example, \P{ASCII} is the same as \p{^ASCII} which is the same as [[:^ascii]].

POSIX form	Matches
`[:ascii:]`	matches an ASCII character U+0000 to U+007F including `\n`
`[:space:]`	matches a white space character `[ \t\v\f\r]` excluding `\n`
`[:xdigit:]`	matches a hex digit `[0-9A-Fa-f]`
`[:cntrl:]`	matches a control character `[\x00-\t\x0b-\x1f\x7f]` excluding `\n`
`[:print:]`	matches a printable character `[\x20-\x7e]`
`[:alnum:]`	matches a alphanumeric character `[0-9A-Za-z]`
`[:alpha:]`	matches a letter `[A-Za-z]`
`[:blank:]`	matches a blank character `\h` same as `[ \t]`
`[:digit:]`	matches a digit `[0-9]`
`[:graph:]`	matches a visible character `[\x21-\x7e]`
`[:lower:]`	matches a lower case letter `[a-z]`
`[:punct:]`	matches a punctuation character `[\x21-\x2f\x3a-\x40\x5b-\x60\x7b-\x7e]`
`[:upper:]`	matches an upper case letter `[A-Z]`
`[:word:]`	matches a word character `[0-9A-Za-z_]`
`[:^blank:]`	matches a non-blank characater `\H` same as `[^ \t]`
`[:^digit:]`	matches a non-digit `[^0-9]`

POSIX character categories only cover ASCII, [[:^ascii]] is empty and therefore invalid to use. By contrast, [^[:ascii]] is a Unicode character class that excludes the ASCII character category.

Note that the patterns [[:ascii:]] and negated classes such as [[:^digit:]] match newlines, which is the official definition of these POSIX categories. By contrast, GNU/BSD grep never match newlines. As a consequence, more patterns may match.

Negated character classes of the form [^...] match any Unicode character except the given characters and does not match newlines either. For example [^[:digit:]] matches non-digits (including Unicode) and does not match newlines. By contrast, [[:^digit:]] matches ASCII non-digits, including newlines.

Option -U disables Unicode wide-character matching, i.e. ASCII matching.

Unicode category	Matches
`.`	matches any single Unicode character except newline `\n` unless with `--dotall`
`\a`	matches BEL U+0007
`\d`	matches a digit `[0-9]` or `\p{Nd}`
`\D`	matches a non-digit including `\n`
`\e`	matches ESC U+001b
`\f`	matches FF U+000c
`\h`	matches a blank `[ \t]`
`\H`	matches a non-blank `[^ \t]` including `\n`
`\l`	matches a lower case letter `\p{Ll}`
`\n`	matches LF U+000a
`\N`	matches a non-LF character
`\r`	matches CR U+000d
`\R`	matches a Unicode line break (`\r\n`, `\r`, `\v`, `\f`, `\n`, U+0085, U+2028 and U+2029)
`\s`	matches a white space character `[ \t\v\f\r\x85\p{Z}]` excluding `\n`
`\S`	matches a non-white space character and excluding `\n`
`\t`	matches TAB U+0009
`\u`	matches an upper case letter `\p{Lu}`
`\v`	matches VT U+000b or vertical space character with option `-P`
`\w`	matches a word character `[0-9A-Za-z_]` or `[\p{L}\p{Nd}\p{Pc}]`
`\W`	matches a non-Unicode word character including `\n`
`\X`	matches any ISO-8859-1 or Unicode character including `\n`
`\p{Space}`	matches a white space character `[ \t\v\f\r\x85\p{Z}]` excluding `\n`
`\p{Unicode}`	matches any Unicode character U+0000 to U+10FFFF minus U+D800 to U+DFFF
`\p{ASCII}`	matches an ASCII character U+0000 to U+007F including `\n`
`\p{Non_ASCII_Unicode}`	matches a non-ASCII character U+0080 to U+10FFFF minus U+D800 to U+DFFF
`\p{L&}`	matches a character with Unicode property L& (i.e. property Ll, Lu, or Lt)
`\p{Letter}`,`\p{L}`	matches a character with Unicode property Letter
`\p{Mark}`,`\p{M}`	matches a character with Unicode property Mark
`\p{Separator}`,`\p{Z}`	matches a character with Unicode property Separator
`\p{Symbol}`,`\p{S}`	matches a character with Unicode property Symbol
`\p{Number}`,`\p{N}`	matches a character with Unicode property Number
`\p{Punctuation}`,`\p{P}`	matches a character with Unicode property Punctuation
`\p{Other}`,`\p{C}`	matches a character with Unicode property Other
`\p{Lowercase_Letter}`, `\p{Ll}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Ll
`\p{Uppercase_Letter}`, `\p{Lu}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Lu
`\p{Titlecase_Letter}`, `\p{Lt}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Lt
`\p{Modifier_Letter}`, `\p{Lm}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Lm
`\p{Other_Letter}`, `\p{Lo}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Lo
`\p{Non_Spacing_Mark}`, `\p{Mn}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Mn
`\p{Spacing_Combining_Mark}`, `\p{Mc}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Mc
`\p{Enclosing_Mark}`, `\p{Me}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Me
`\p{Space_Separator}`, `\p{Zs}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Zs
`\p{Line_Separator}`, `\p{Zl}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Zl
`\p{Paragraph_Separator}`, `\p{Zp}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Zp
`\p{Math_Symbol}`, `\p{Sm}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Sm
`\p{Currency_Symbol}`, `\p{Sc}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Sc
`\p{Modifier_Symbol}`, `\p{Sk}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Sk
`\p{Other_Symbol}`, `\p{So}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property So
`\p{Decimal_Digit_Number}`, `\p{Nd}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Nd
`\p{Letter_Number}`, `\p{Nl}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Nl
`\p{Other_Number}`, `\p{No}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property No
`\p{Dash_Punctuation}`, `\p{Pd}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Pd
`\p{Open_Punctuation}`, `\p{Ps}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Ps
`\p{Close_Punctuation}`, `\p{Pe}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Pe
`\p{Initial_Punctuation}`, `\p{Pi}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Pi
`\p{Final_Punctuation}`, `\p{Pf}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Pf
`\p{Connector_Punctuation}`, `\p{Pc}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Pc
`\p{Other_Punctuation}`, `\p{Po}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Po
`\p{Control}`, `\p{Cc}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Cc
`\p{Format}`, `\p{Cf}`	matches a character with Unicode sub-property Cf
`\p{UnicodeIdentifierStart}`	matches a character in the Unicode IdentifierStart class
`\p{UnicodeIdentifierPart}`	matches a character in the Unicode IdentifierPart class
`\p{IdentifierIgnorable}`	matches a character in the IdentifierIgnorable class
`\p{JavaIdentifierStart}`	matches a character in the Java IdentifierStart class
`\p{JavaIdentifierPart}`	matches a character in the Java IdentifierPart class
`\p{CsIdentifierStart}`	matches a character in the C# IdentifierStart class
`\p{CsIdentifierPart}`	matches a character in the C# IdentifierPart class
`\p{PythonIdentifierStart}`	matches a character in the Python IdentifierStart class
`\p{PythonIdentifierPart}`	matches a character in the Python IdentifierPart class

To specify a Unicode block as a category use \p{IsBlockName} with a Unicode BlockName.

To specify a Unicode language script, use \p{Language} with a Unicode Language.

Unicode language script character classes differ from the Unicode blocks that have a similar name. For example, the \p{Greek} class represents Greek and Coptic letters and differs from the Unicode block \p{IsGreek} that spans a specific Unicode block of Greek and Coptic characters only, which also includes unassigned characters.

🔝 Back to table of contents

Perl regular expression syntax

For the pattern syntax of ugrep option -P (Perl regular expressions), see for example Perl regular expression syntax. However, ugrep enhances the Perl regular expression syntax with all of the features listed in POSIX regular expression syntax.

🔝 Back to table of contents

Troubleshooting

If something is not working, then please check the tutorial and the man page. If you can't find it there and it looks like a bug, then report an issue on GitHub. Bug reports are quickly addressed.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 851 Commits
.github		.github
bin		bin
completions		completions
include		include
lib		lib
lzma		lzma
m4		m4
man		man
msvc		msvc
patterns		patterns
src		src
tests		tests
vs		vs
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md		CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
Dockerfile		Dockerfile
Dockerfile-minimized		Dockerfile-minimized
LICENSE.txt		LICENSE.txt
Makefile.am		Makefile.am
Makefile.in		Makefile.in
README.md		README.md
aclocal.m4		aclocal.m4
ar-lib		ar-lib
build.sh		build.sh
compile		compile
config.guess		config.guess
config.h.in		config.h.in
config.sub		config.sub
configure		configure
configure.ac		configure.ac
depcomp		depcomp
install-sh		install-sh
makemake.sh		makemake.sh
man.sh		man.sh
missing		missing

License

Genivia/ugrep

Folders and files

Latest commit

History

Repository files navigation

The ugrep file pattern searcher

Why use ugrep?

Development roadmap

Overview

Commands

What does ugrep add that GNU grep does not support?

Table of contents

How to install

MacOS

Windows

Alpine Linux

Arch Linux

CentOS

Debian

Fedora

FreeBSD

Haiku

NetBSD

OpenBSD

OpenSUSE

RHEL

Other platforms: step 1 download

Other platforms: step 2 consider optional dependencies

Other platforms: step 3 build

Troubleshooting

Git and timestamps

Compiler warnings

Dockerfile for developers

Performance comparisons

Using ugrep within Vim

Using ugrep within Emacs

Using ugrep to replace GNU/BSD grep

Equivalence to GNU/BSD grep

Short and quick command aliases

Notable improvements over grep

Tutorial

Examples

Advanced examples

Displaying helpful info

Configuration files

The ug command versus the ugrep command

Named configuration files

Saving a configuration file

Interactive search with -Q

Recursively list matching files with -l, -R, -r, -S, --depth, -g, -O, and -t

Boolean query patterns with -%, -%%, --and, --not

Search this but not that with -v, -e, -N, -f, -L, -w, -x

Search non-Unicode files with --encoding

Matching multiple lines of text

Displaying match context with -A, -B, -C, -y, and --width

Searching source code using -f, -g, -O, and -t

Searching compressed files and archives with -z

Find files by file signature and shebang "magic bytes" with -M, -O and -t

Fuzzy search with -Z

Search hidden files with -.

Using filter utilities to search documents with --filter

Searching and displaying binary files with -U, -W, and -X

Ignore binary files with -I

Ignoring .gitignore-specified files with --ignore-files

Using gitignore-style globs to select directories and files to search

Including or excluding mounted file systems from searches

Counting the number of matches with -c and -co

Displaying file, line, column, and byte offset info with -H, -n, -k, -b, and -T

Displaying colors with --color and paging the output with --pager

Output matches in JSON, XML, CSV, C++

Customized output with --format

--csv

--json

--xml

--only-line-number

Replacing matches with -P --replace and --format using backreferences

Limiting the number of matches with -1,-2...-9, -K, -m, and --max-files

Matching empty patterns with -Y

Case-insentitive matching with -i and -j

`--csv`

`--json`

`--xml`

`--only-line-number`