rg Code Search

Expert knowledge for using rg (ripgrep) as a blazingly fast code search tool with powerful filtering and pattern matching.

When to Use This Skill

| Use this skill when... | Use fd-file-finding instead when... | |---|---| | Searching file contents for text or regex patterns | Searching for files by name, extension, or path | | Filtering matches by file type (-t py, -t js) | Filtering files by mtime, size, or -type | | Multi-line pattern matching across source files | Locating files to feed into another tool |

| Use this skill when... | Use binary-analysis instead when... | |---|---| | Searching source code or text-encoded files | Extracting strings from compiled binaries or firmware | | Auditing repos for hardcoded patterns in tracked files | Hunting for credentials inside ELF, Mach-O, or .bin blobs |

Core Expertise

ripgrep Advantages

• Extremely fast (written in Rust)
• Respects .gitignore automatically
• Smart case-insensitive search
• Recursive by default
• Colorized output
• Multi-line search support
• Replace functionality

Basic Usage

Simple Search

# Basic search
rg pattern                  # Search in current directory
rg "import numpy"           # Search for exact phrase
rg function_name            # Search for function name

# Case-sensitive search
rg -s Pattern               # Force case-sensitive
rg -i PATTERN               # Force case-insensitive

File Type Filtering

# Search specific file types
rg pattern -t py            # Python files only
rg pattern -t rs            # Rust files only
rg pattern -t js            # JavaScript files
rg pattern -t md            # Markdown files

# Multiple types
rg pattern -t py -t rs      # Python and Rust

# List available types
rg --type-list              # Show all known types

Extension Filtering

# Filter by extension
rg pattern -g '*.rs'        # Rust files
rg pattern -g '*.{js,ts}'   # JavaScript and TypeScript
rg pattern -g '!*.min.js'   # Exclude minified files

Advanced Filtering

Path Filtering

# Search in specific directories
rg pattern src/             # Only src/ directory
rg pattern src/ tests/      # Multiple directories

# Exclude paths
rg pattern -g '!target/'    # Exclude target/
rg pattern -g '!{dist,build,node_modules}/'  # Exclude multiple

# Full path matching
rg pattern -g '**/test/**'  # Only test directories

A glob with no / matches the basename only. So -g '*name*' can never match a directory called name — it tests SKILL.md, not skills/name/SKILL.md. Add a / and the glob anchors to the full path from the search root instead, where * does not cross /; only ** spans depth.

rg --files -g '*sentry-triage*'      # nothing — basename is SKILL.md
rg --files -g '*sentry-triage*/**'   # nothing — now anchored at the root
rg --files -g '**/sentry-triage/**'  # skills/sentry-triage/SKILL.md ← the only form that works

It fails quietly: -g '*name*' still matches sibling files like name-notes.md, so a partial hit reads as a working search. When hunting a name rather than content, prefer rg -l <pattern> or find -type d -name <name>.

Content Filtering

# Search only in files containing pattern
rg --files-with-matches "import.*React" | xargs rg "useState"

# Exclude files by content
rg pattern --type-not markdown

# Search only uncommitted files
rg pattern $(git diff --name-only)

Size and Hidden Files

# Include hidden files
rg pattern -u               # Include hidden
rg pattern -uu              # Include hidden + .gitignore'd
rg pattern -uuu             # Unrestricted: everything

# Exclude by size
rg pattern --max-filesize 1M  # Skip files over 1MB

Quick Reference

Essential Options

| Option | Purpose | Example | |--------|---------|---------| | -t TYPE | File type filter | rg -t py pattern | | -g GLOB | Glob pattern | rg -g '*.rs' pattern | | -i | Case-insensitive | rg -i pattern | | -s | Case-sensitive | rg -s Pattern | | -w | Match whole words | rg -w word | | -l | Files with matches | rg -l pattern | | -c | Count per file | rg -c pattern | | -A N | Lines after | rg -A 5 pattern | | -B N | Lines before | rg -B 3 pattern | | -C N | Context lines | rg -C 2 pattern | | -U | Multi-line | rg -U 'pattern.*' | | -u | Include hidden | rg -u pattern | | --replace | Replace text | rg pattern --replace new |

This makes rg the preferred tool for fast, powerful code search in development workflows.

For the full regex and multi-line recipes, output formatting, language-specific search patterns, tool integrations, performance tuning, and the complete file-type table, see REFERENCE.md.