ripgrep (rg) – Fast Search Tool

Fast line-oriented search tool that recursively searches the current directory for a regex pattern.

Quick Start

rg "pattern"                    # Search for pattern
rg -l "pattern"                 # List files only
rg -t py "pattern"              # Search Python files only
rg -A 3 "pattern"               # Show 3 lines after match
rg -B 2 "pattern"               # Show 2 lines before match
rg --vimgrep "pattern"          # Output for editors
rg "pattern" /path/to/search    # Search specific path

Commands

Search Files

uv run {baseDir}/scripts/rg.py search "TODO"                 # Find TODO comments
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/rg.py search "def main" --type py   # Find functions in Python
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/rg.py files "class.*Agent"          # Find classes

Find Files by Pattern

uv run {baseDir}/scripts/rg.py find "import" --type py       # Files with imports
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/rg.py count "error"                 # Count occurrences
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/rg.py hidden "secret"               # Search hidden files

Git-Specific

uv run {baseDir}/scripts/rg.py staged "FIXME"                # Search staged changes
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/rg.py commits "feat:"               # Search commit messages

Examples

Find All TODO Comments

rg "TODO" -n --type md

Find Function Definitions

rg "^def " --type py -n

Find All Imports

rg "^import|^from" --type py -n

Count Lines of Code by Language

rg -l --type py | wc -l

Why ripgrep Over grep?

Installation

brew install ripgrep  # macOS
cargo install ripgrep # Linux/ARM64

See Also

• Full workflow guide: memory/WORKFLOW.md – Decision tree for when to use ripgrep vs other tools
• Tool comparison: memory/HIGH-IMPACT-TOOLS.md – Why ripgrep over grep

Files

• scripts/rg.py – CLI wrapper