feat(cli): add grep/find/findstr as alternative search strategy

[uinstinct]

Description

Search tool on cn relies on ripgrep for searching inside files which is often not present in the running system. This leads to the model using alternative approaches which might skip search for files altogether. This PR adds grep/find utility for linux and findstr for windows.

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• [] I've read the contributing guide
• [] The relevant docs, if any, have been updated or created
• [] The relevant tests, if any, have been updated or created

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Summary by cubic

Add a cross-platform fallback for CLI code search: use grep on Unix and findstr on Windows when ripgrep isn’t available. Improves reliability on systems without ripgrep and respects .gitignore excludes where supported.

• New Features
  • Automatically falls back to grep (Unix) or findstr (Windows) if ripgrep is missing.
  • Parses .gitignore; applies excludes with ripgrep and grep on Unix (findstr cannot apply ignores).
  • Keeps file_pattern filtering for targeted searches.
  • Updates messages to surface warnings and use a unified “Error executing search” on failure.

^{Written for commit 57a7e59. Summary will update automatically on new commits.}

[cubic-dev-ai]

1 issue found across 1 file

Prompt for AI agents (all 1 issues)

Understand the root cause of the following 1 issues and fix them.


<file name="extensions/cli/src/tools/searchCode.ts">

<violation number="1" location="extensions/cli/src/tools/searchCode.ts:75">
The fallback search uses `find -name` with the provided file pattern, but `-name` only matches the basename, so patterns with directories like `src/**/*.ts` stop working when falling back from ripgrep. Please switch to a path-aware match (e.g. `find … -path …`) to keep file filters consistent regardless of backend.</violation>
</file>

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[RomneyDa]

See failing tests and feedback

[RomneyDa]

Should we just remove ripgrep use entirely? Is ripgrep markedly better than these alternatives? Either way looks good for now

[cubic-dev-ai]

2 issues found across 3 files

Prompt for AI agents (all 2 issues)

Check if these issues are valid — if so, understand the root cause of each and fix them.


<file name="extensions/cli/src/tools/searchCode.ts">

<violation number="1" location="extensions/cli/src/tools/searchCode.ts:20">
Negated `.gitignore` entries (`!pattern`) are dropped, which causes files that Git explicitly re-includes to remain excluded from search, hiding legitimate matches.</violation>

<violation number="2" location="extensions/cli/src/tools/searchCode.ts:75">
The grep fallback ignores `.gitignore` exclusions whenever `file_pattern` is used because `find | xargs` passes explicit files and `--exclude-dir` no longer filters them, so ignored directories (e.g., `node_modules/`) are searched again.</violation>
</file>

_{Reply to cubic to teach it or ask questions. Re-run a review with @cubic-dev-ai review this PR}

[cubic-dev-ai]

1 issue found across 3 files

Prompt for AI agents (all 1 issues)

Check if these issues are valid — if so, understand the root cause of each and fix them.


<file name="extensions/cli/src/tools/searchCode.ts">

<violation number="1" location="extensions/cli/src/tools/searchCode.ts:86">
Negated .gitignore patterns are treated as `--include` filters in the grep fallback, which causes searches to only scan those negated files (e.g., repos with `!.gitignore` will only search `.gitignore`). Remove the include to avoid filtering away the rest of the codebase.</violation>
</file>

_{Reply to cubic to teach it or ask questions. Re-run a review with @cubic-dev-ai review this PR}

[cubic-dev-ai]

1 issue found across 1 file (reviewed changes from recent commits).

Prompt for AI agents (all 1 issues)

Check if these issues are valid — if so, understand the root cause of each and fix them.


<file name="extensions/cli/src/tools/searchCode.ts">

<violation number="1" location="extensions/cli/src/tools/searchCode.ts:20">
Negated entries in .gitignore are now ignored entirely, so files explicitly re-included with `!pattern` are still excluded from both ripgrep and grep/findstr searches, breaking expected .gitignore override behavior.</violation>
</file>

_{Reply to cubic to teach it or ask questions. Re-run a review with @cubic-dev-ai review this PR}

[cubic-dev-ai]

Negated entries in .gitignore are now ignored entirely, so files explicitly re-included with !pattern are still excluded from both ripgrep and grep/findstr searches, breaking expected .gitignore override behavior.

Prompt for AI agents

Check if this issue is valid — if so, understand the root cause and fix it. At extensions/cli/src/tools/searchCode.ts, line 20:

<comment>Negated entries in .gitignore are now ignored entirely, so files explicitly re-included with `!pattern` are still excluded from both ripgrep and grep/findstr searches, breaking expected .gitignore override behavior.</comment>

<file context>
@@ -9,25 +9,18 @@ import { Tool } from &quot;./types.js&quot;;
-      ignorePatterns.push(line);
-    }
+    if (line.startsWith(&quot;#&quot;) || line === &quot;&quot;) continue; // ignore comments and empty line
+    if (line.startsWith(&quot;!&quot;)) continue; // ignore negated ignores
+    ignorePatterns.push(line);
   }
</file context>