Documentation/git-grep.txt

   1 git-grep(1)
   2 ===========
   3
   4 NAME
   5 ----
   6 git-grep - Print lines matching a pattern
   7
   8
   9 SYNOPSIS
  10 --------
  11 [verse]
  12 'git grep' [-a | --text] [-I] [-i | --ignore-case] [-w | --word-regexp]
  13            [-v | --invert-match] [-h|-H] [--full-name]
  14            [-E | --extended-regexp] [-G | --basic-regexp]
  15            [-P | --perl-regexp]
  16            [-F | --fixed-strings] [-n | --line-number]
  17            [-l | --files-with-matches] [-L | --files-without-match]
  18            [(-O | --open-files-in-pager) [<pager>]]
  19            [-z | --null]
  20            [-c | --count] [--all-match] [-q | --quiet]
  21            [--max-depth <depth>]
  22            [--color[=<when>] | --no-color]
  23            [--break] [--heading] [-p | --show-function]
  24            [-A <post-context>] [-B <pre-context>] [-C <context>]
  25            [-W | --function-context]
  26            [-f <file>] [-e] <pattern>
  27            [--and|--or|--not|(|)|-e <pattern>...]
  28            [ [--exclude-standard] [--cached | --no-index | --untracked] | <tree>...]
  29            [--] [<pathspec>...]
  30
  31 DESCRIPTION
  32 -----------
  33 Look for specified patterns in the tracked files in the work tree, blobs
  34 registered in the index file, or blobs in given tree objects.
  35
  36
  37 CONFIGURATION
  38 -------------
  39
  40 grep.lineNumber::
  41         If set to true, enable '-n' option by default.
  42
  43 grep.extendedRegexp::
  44         If set to true, enable '--extended-regexp' option by default.
  45
  46
  47 OPTIONS
  48 -------
  49 --cached::
  50         Instead of searching tracked files in the working tree, search
  51         blobs registered in the index file.
  52
  53 --no-index::
  54         Search files in the current directory that is not managed by git.
  55
  56 --untracked::
  57         In addition to searching in the tracked files in the working
  58         tree, search also in untracked files.
  59
  60 --no-exclude-standard::
  61         Also search in ignored files by not honoring the `.gitignore`
  62         mechanism. Only useful with `--untracked`.
  63
  64 --exclude-standard::
  65         Do not pay attention to ignored files specified via the `.gitignore`
  66         mechanism.  Only useful when searching files in the current directory
  67         with `--no-index`.
  68
  69 -a::
  70 --text::
  71         Process binary files as if they were text.
  72
  73 -i::
  74 --ignore-case::
  75         Ignore case differences between the patterns and the
  76         files.
  77
  78 -I::
  79         Don't match the pattern in binary files.
  80
  81 --max-depth <depth>::
  82         For each <pathspec> given on command line, descend at most <depth>
  83         levels of directories. A negative value means no limit.
  84         This option is ignored if <pathspec> contains active wildcards.
  85         In other words if "a*" matches a directory named "a*",
  86         "*" is matched literally so --max-depth is still effective.
  87
  88 -w::
  89 --word-regexp::
  90         Match the pattern only at word boundary (either begin at the
  91         beginning of a line, or preceded by a non-word character; end at
  92         the end of a line or followed by a non-word character).
  93
  94 -v::
  95 --invert-match::
  96         Select non-matching lines.
  97
  98 -h::
  99 -H::
 100         By default, the command shows the filename for each
 101         match.  `-h` option is used to suppress this output.
 102         `-H` is there for completeness and does not do anything
 103         except it overrides `-h` given earlier on the command
 104         line.
 105
 106 --full-name::
 107         When run from a subdirectory, the command usually
 108         outputs paths relative to the current directory.  This
 109         option forces paths to be output relative to the project
 110         top directory.
 111
 112 -E::
 113 --extended-regexp::
 114 -G::
 115 --basic-regexp::
 116         Use POSIX extended/basic regexp for patterns.  Default
 117         is to use basic regexp.
 118
 119 -P::
 120 --perl-regexp::
 121         Use Perl-compatible regexp for patterns. Requires libpcre to be
 122         compiled in.
 123
 124 -F::
 125 --fixed-strings::
 126         Use fixed strings for patterns (don't interpret pattern
 127         as a regex).
 128
 129 -n::
 130 --line-number::
 131         Prefix the line number to matching lines.
 132
 133 -l::
 134 --files-with-matches::
 135 --name-only::
 136 -L::
 137 --files-without-match::
 138         Instead of showing every matched line, show only the
 139         names of files that contain (or do not contain) matches.
 140         For better compatibility with 'git diff', `--name-only` is a
 141         synonym for `--files-with-matches`.
 142
 143 -O [<pager>]::
 144 --open-files-in-pager [<pager>]::
 145         Open the matching files in the pager (not the output of 'grep').
 146         If the pager happens to be "less" or "vi", and the user
 147         specified only one pattern, the first file is positioned at
 148         the first match automatically.
 149
 150 -z::
 151 --null::
 152         Output \0 instead of the character that normally follows a
 153         file name.
 154
 155 -c::
 156 --count::
 157         Instead of showing every matched line, show the number of
 158         lines that match.
 159
 160 --color[=<when>]::
 161         Show colored matches.
 162         The value must be always (the default), never, or auto.
 163
 164 --no-color::
 165         Turn off match highlighting, even when the configuration file
 166         gives the default to color output.
 167         Same as `--color=never`.
 168
 169 --break::
 170         Print an empty line between matches from different files.
 171
 172 --heading::
 173         Show the filename above the matches in that file instead of
 174         at the start of each shown line.
 175
 176 -p::
 177 --show-function::
 178         Show the preceding line that contains the function name of
 179         the match, unless the matching line is a function name itself.
 180         The name is determined in the same way as 'git diff' works out
 181         patch hunk headers (see 'Defining a custom hunk-header' in
 182         linkgit:gitattributes[5]).
 183
 184 -<num>::
 185 -C <num>::
 186 --context <num>::
 187         Show <num> leading and trailing lines, and place a line
 188         containing `--` between contiguous groups of matches.
 189
 190 -A <num>::
 191 --after-context <num>::
 192         Show <num> trailing lines, and place a line containing
 193         `--` between contiguous groups of matches.
 194
 195 -B <num>::
 196 --before-context <num>::
 197         Show <num> leading lines, and place a line containing
 198         `--` between contiguous groups of matches.
 199
 200 -W::
 201 --function-context::
 202         Show the surrounding text from the previous line containing a
 203         function name up to the one before the next function name,
 204         effectively showing the whole function in which the match was
 205         found.
 206
 207 -f <file>::
 208         Read patterns from <file>, one per line.
 209
 210 -e::
 211         The next parameter is the pattern. This option has to be
 212         used for patterns starting with `-` and should be used in
 213         scripts passing user input to grep.  Multiple patterns are
 214         combined by 'or'.
 215
 216 --and::
 217 --or::
 218 --not::
 219 ( ... )::
 220         Specify how multiple patterns are combined using Boolean
 221         expressions.  `--or` is the default operator.  `--and` has
 222         higher precedence than `--or`.  `-e` has to be used for all
 223         patterns.
 224
 225 --all-match::
 226         When giving multiple pattern expressions combined with `--or`,
 227         this flag is specified to limit the match to files that
 228         have lines to match all of them.
 229
 230 -q::
 231 --quiet::
 232         Do not output matched lines; instead, exit with status 0 when
 233         there is a match and with non-zero status when there isn't.
 234
 235 <tree>...::
 236         Instead of searching tracked files in the working tree, search
 237         blobs in the given trees.
 238
 239 \--::
 240         Signals the end of options; the rest of the parameters
 241         are <pathspec> limiters.
 242
 243 <pathspec>...::
 244         If given, limit the search to paths matching at least one pattern.
 245         Both leading paths match and glob(7) patterns are supported.
 246
 247 Examples
 248 --------
 249
 250 `git grep {apostrophe}time_t{apostrophe} \-- {apostrophe}*.[ch]{apostrophe}`::
 251         Looks for `time_t` in all tracked .c and .h files in the working
 252         directory and its subdirectories.
 253
 254 `git grep -e {apostrophe}#define{apostrophe} --and \( -e MAX_PATH -e PATH_MAX \)`::
 255         Looks for a line that has `#define` and either `MAX_PATH` or
 256         `PATH_MAX`.
 257
 258 `git grep --all-match -e NODE -e Unexpected`::
 259         Looks for a line that has `NODE` or `Unexpected` in
 260         files that have lines that match both.
 261
 262 GIT
 263 ---
 264 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite