Ripgrep (rg) is an extremely fast line-oriented search tool that recursively searches directories for regex patterns, combining the usability of The Silver Searcher (ag) with raw speed that surpasses traditional grep by 5 to 100 times depending on the use case. Written in Rust, ripgrep uses finite automata, SIMD vector instructions, and aggressive literal optimizations to achieve its exceptional performance. It solves the problem of slow code search in large repositories by providing near-instantaneous results even across massive codebases.
Ripgrep automatically respects .gitignore, .ignore, and .rgignore files, skips hidden files and binary files by default, and supports file type filtering for targeted searches across specific programming languages. It offers comprehensive grep features including context display, multi-pattern matching, color-highlighted output, full Unicode support, and PCRE2 regex support. Ripgrep can search compressed files in formats like gzip, bzip2, xz, and zstd, supports multiline matching, and includes a configuration file system for persistent settings.
Ripgrep is an essential tool for developers, code reviewers, and anyone who needs to search through large codebases or log files quickly. It is the default search backend for VS Code and is integrated into many other editors and development tools. Available on macOS, Linux, and Windows, ripgrep has largely replaced grep, ack, and ag in modern development workflows, and pairs naturally with other CLI tools like fzf for interactive search result filtering.
