Provided by: ugrep_7.4.2+dfsg-1_amd64 
NAME
ugrep, ug -- file pattern searcher
SYNOPSIS
ugrep [OPTIONS] [-i|-j] [-Q|PATTERN] [-e PATTERN] [-N PATTERN] [-f FILE]
[-E|-F|-G|-P|-Z] [-U] [-m [MIN,][MAX]] [--bool [--files|--lines]]
[-r|-R|-1|...|-9|-10|-11|...] [-t TYPES] [-g GLOBS] [--sort[=KEY]]
[-q|-l|-c|-o] [-v] [-n] [-k] [-b] [-A NUM] [-B NUM] [-C NUM] [-y]
[--color[=WHEN]|--colour[=WHEN]] [--pretty] [--pager[=COMMAND]]
[--hexdump|--csv|--json|--xml] [-I] [-z] [--zmax=NUM] [FILE ...]
DESCRIPTION
The ugrep utility searches any given input files, selecting files and lines that match one or more
patterns specified as regular expressions or as fixed strings. A pattern matches multiple input lines
when the pattern's regular expression matches one or more newlines. An empty pattern matches every line.
Each input line that matches at least one of the patterns is written to the standard output.
The ug command is intended for interactive searching, using a `.ugrep' configuration file located in the
working directory or, if not found, in the home directory, see CONFIGURATION. ug is equivalent to ugrep
--config --pretty --sort to load a configuration file, enhance the terminal output, and to sort files by
name.
The ugrep+ and ug+ commands are the same as the ugrep and ug commands, but also use filters to search
pdfs, documents, e-books, and image metadata, when the corresponding filter tools are installed.
A list of matching files is produced with option -l (--files-with-matches). Option -c (--count) counts
the number of matching lines. When combined with option -o, counts the total number of matches. When
combined with option -m1, (--min-count=1), skips files with zero matches.
The default pattern syntax is an extended form of the POSIX ERE syntax, same as option -E (--extended-
regexp). Try ug --help regex for help with pattern syntax and how to use logical connectives to specify
Boolean search queries with option -% (--bool) to match lines and -%% (--bool --files) to match files.
Options -F (--fixed-strings), -G (--basic-regexp) and -P (--perl-regexp) specify other pattern syntaxes.
Option -i (--ignore-case) ignores letter case in patterns. Option -j (--smart-case) enables -i only if
the search patterns are specified in lower case.
Fuzzy (approximate) search is specified with option -Z (--fuzzy) with an optional argument to control
character insertions, deletions, and/or substitutions. Try ug --help fuzzy for help with fuzzy search.
Note that pattern `.' matches any non-newline character. Pattern `\n' matches a newline character.
Multiple lines may be matched with patterns that match one or more newline characters.
The empty pattern "" matches all lines. Other empty-matching patterns do not. For example, the pattern
`a*' will match one or more a's. Option -Y forces empty matches for compatibility with other grep tools.
Option -f FILE matches patterns specified in FILE.
By default Unicode patterns are matched. Option -U (--ascii or --binary) disables Unicode matching for
ASCII and binary pattern matching. Non-Unicode matching is more efficient.
ugrep accepts input of various encoding formats and normalizes the output to UTF-8. When a UTF byte
order mark is present in the input, the input is automatically normalized. An input encoding format may
be specified with option --encoding.
If no FILE arguments are specified and standard input is read from a terminal, recursive searches are
performed as if -r is specified. To force reading from standard input, specify `-' as a FILE argument.
Directories specified as FILE arguments are searched without recursing deeper into subdirectories, unless
-R, -r, or -2...-9 is specified to search subdirectories recursively (up to the specified depth.)
Option -I (--ignore-binary) ignores binary files. A binary file is a file with non-text content. A file
with zero bytes or invalid UTF formatting is considered binary.
Hidden files and directories are ignored in recursive searches. Option -. (--hidden) includes hidden
files and directories in recursive searches.
To match the names of files to search and the names of directories to recurse, one or more of the
following options may be specified. Option -O specifies one or more filename extensions to match.
Option -t specifies one or more file types to search (-t list outputs a list of types.) Option -g
specifies a gitignore-style glob pattern to match filenames. Option --ignore-files specifies a file with
gitignore-style globs to ignore directories and files. Try ug --help globs for help with filename and
directory name matching. See also section GLOBBING.
Compressed files and archives are searched with option -z (--decompress). When used with option
--zmax=NUM, searches the contents of compressed files and archives stored within archives up to NUM
levels.
Output to a terminal for viewing is enhanced with --pretty, which is enabled by default with the ug
command.
A query terminal user interface (TUI) is opened with -Q (--query) to interactively specify search
patterns and view search results. A PATTERN argument requires -e PATTERN to start the query TUI with the
specified pattern.
A terminal output pager is enabled with --pager that accepts an optional COMMAND to view the output.
Customized output is produced with option --format or --replace. Try ug --help format for help with
custom formatting of the output. See also section FORMAT. Predefined formats include CSV with option
--csv, JSON with option --json, and XML with option --xml. Hexdumps are output with option -X (--hex) or
with option --hexdump to customize hexdumps.
A `--' signals the end of options; the rest of the parameters are FILE arguments, allowing filenames to
begin with a `-' character.
Long options may start with `--no-' to disable, when applicable.
ug --help WHAT displays help on options related to WHAT.
The following options are available:
-A NUM, --after-context=NUM
Output NUM lines of trailing context after matching lines. Places a --group-separator between
contiguous groups of matches. If -o is specified, output the match with context to fit NUM
columns after the match or shortens the match. See also options -B, -C and -y.
-a, --text
Process a binary file as if it were text. This is equivalent to the --binary-files=text option.
This option might output binary garbage to the terminal, which can have problematic consequences
if the terminal driver interprets some of it as terminal commands.
--all, -@
Search all files except hidden: cancel previous file and directory search restrictions and cancel
--ignore-binary and --ignore-files when specified. Restrictions specified after this option, i.e.
to the right, are still applied. For example, -@I searches all non-binary files and -@. searches
all files including hidden files. Note that hidden files and directories are never searched,
unless option -. or --hidden is specified.
--and [-e] PATTERN
Specify additional PATTERN that must match. Additional -e PATTERN following this option is
considered an alternative pattern to match, i.e. each -e is interpreted as an OR pattern enclosed
within the AND. For example, -e A -e B --and -e C -e D matches lines with (`A' or `B') and (`C'
or `D'). Note that multiple -e PATTERN are alternations that bind more tightly together than
--and. Option --stats displays the search patterns applied. See also options --not, --andnot,
--bool, --files and --lines.
--andnot [-e] PATTERN
Combines --and --not. See also options --and, --not and --bool.
-B NUM, --before-context=NUM
Output NUM lines of leading context before matching lines. Places a --group-separator between
contiguous groups of matches. If -o is specified, output the match with context to fit NUM
columns before the match or shortens the match. See also options -A, -C and -y.
-b, --byte-offset
The offset in bytes of a pattern match is displayed in front of the respective matched line. When
-u is specified, displays the offset for each pattern matched on the same line. Byte offsets are
exact for ASCII, UTF-8 and raw binary input. Otherwise, the byte offset in the UTF-8 normalized
input is displayed.
--binary-files=TYPE
Controls searching and reporting pattern matches in binary files. TYPE can be `binary',
`without-match`, `text`, `hex` and `with-hex'. The default is `binary' to search binary files and
to report a match without displaying the match. `without-match' ignores binary matches. `text'
treats all binary files as text, which might output binary garbage to the terminal, which can have
problematic consequences if the terminal driver interprets some of it as commands. `hex' reports
all matches in hexadecimal. `with-hex' only reports binary matches in hexadecimal, leaving text
matches alone. A match is considered binary when matching a zero byte or invalid UTF. Short
options are -a, -I, -U, -W and -X.
--bool, -%, -%%
Specifies Boolean query patterns. A Boolean query pattern is composed of `AND', `OR', `NOT'
operators and grouping with `(' `)'. Spacing between subpatterns is the same as `AND', `|' is the
same as `OR' and a `-' is the same as `NOT'. The `OR' operator binds more tightly than `AND'.
For example, --bool 'A|B C|D' matches lines with (`A' or `B') and (`C' or `D'), --bool 'A -B'
matches lines with `A' and not `B'. Operators `AND', `OR', `NOT' require proper spacing. For
example, --bool 'A OR B AND C OR D' matches lines with (`A' or `B') and (`C' or `D'), --bool 'A
AND NOT B' matches lines with `A' without `B'. Quoted subpatterns are matched literally as
strings. For example, --bool 'A "AND"|"OR"' matches lines with `A' and also either `AND' or `OR'.
Parentheses are used for grouping. For example, --bool '(A B)|C' matches lines with `A' and `B',
or lines with `C'. Note that all subpatterns in a Boolean query pattern are regular expressions,
unless -F is specified. Options -E, -F, -G, -P and -Z can be combined with --bool to match
subpatterns as strings or regular expressions (-E is the default.) This option does not apply to
-f FILE patterns. The double short option -%% enables options --bool --files. Option --stats
displays the Boolean search patterns applied. See also options --and, --andnot, --not, --files
and --lines.
--break
Adds a line break between results from different files. This option is enabled by --heading.
-C NUM, --context=NUM
Output NUM lines of leading and trailing context surrounding each matching line. Places a
--group-separator between contiguous groups of matches. If -o is specified, output the match with
context to fit NUM columns before and after the match or shortens the match. See also options -A,
-B and -y.
-c, --count
Only a count of selected lines is written to standard output. When -o or -u is specified, counts
the number of patterns matched. When -v is specified, counts the number of non-matching lines.
When -m1, (with a comma or --min-count=1) is specified, counts only matching files without
outputting zero matches.
--color[=WHEN], --colour[=WHEN]
Mark up the matching text with the colors specified with option --colors or the GREP_COLOR or
GREP_COLORS environment variable. WHEN can be `never', `always', or `auto', where `auto' marks up
matches only when output on a terminal. The default is `auto'.
--colors=COLORS, --colours=COLORS
Use COLORS to mark up text. COLORS is a colon-separated list of one or more parameters `sl='
(selected line), `cx=' (context line), `mt=' (matched text), `ms=' (match selected), `mc=' (match
context), `fn=' (file name), `ln=' (line number), `cn=' (column number), `bn=' (byte offset),
`se=' (separator), `qp=' (TUI prompt), `qe=' (TUI errors), `qr=' (TUI regex), `qm=' (TUI regex
meta characters), `ql=' (TUI regex lists and literals), `qb=' (TUI regex braces). Parameter
values are ANSI SGR color codes or `k' (black), `r' (red), `g' (green), `y' (yellow), `b' (blue),
`m' (magenta), `c' (cyan), `w' (white), or leave empty for no color. Upper case specifies
background colors. A `+' qualifies a color as bright. A foreground and a background color may be
combined with font properties `n' (normal), `f' (faint), `h' (highlight), `i' (invert), `u'
(underline). Parameter `hl' enables file name hyperlinks. Parameter `rv' reverses the `sl=' and
`cx=' parameters when option -v is specified. Selectively overrides GREP_COLORS. Legacy grep
single parameter codes may be specified, for example --colors='7;32' or --colors=ig to set ms
(match selected).
--config[=FILE], ---[FILE]
Use configuration FILE. The default FILE is `.ugrep'. The working directory is checked first for
FILE, then the home directory. The options specified in the configuration FILE are parsed first,
followed by the remaining options specified on the command line. The ug command automatically
loads a `.ugrep' configuration file when present, unless --config=FILE or --no-config is
specified.
--no-config
Do not automatically load the default .ugrep configuration file.
--no-confirm
Do not confirm actions in -Q query TUI. The default is confirm.
--cpp Output file matches in C++. See also options --format and -u.
--csv Output file matches in CSV. When -H, -n, -k, or -b is specified, additional values are output.
See also options --format and -u.
-D ACTION, --devices=ACTION
If an input file is a device, FIFO or socket, use ACTION to process it. By default, ACTION is
`skip', which means that devices are silently skipped. When ACTION is `read', devices read just
as if they were ordinary files.
-d ACTION, --directories=ACTION
If an input file is a directory, use ACTION to process it. By default, ACTION is `skip', i.e.,
silently skip directories unless specified on the command line. When ACTION is `read', warn when
directories are read as input. When ACTION is `recurse', read all files under each directory,
recursively, following symbolic links only if they are on the command line. This is equivalent to
the -r option. When ACTION is `dereference-recurse', read all files under each directory,
recursively, following symbolic links. This is equivalent to the -R option.
--delay=DELAY
Set the default -Q key response delay. Default is 3 for 300ms.
--depth=[MIN,][MAX], -1, -2, -3, ... -9, -10, -11, ...
Restrict recursive searches from MIN to MAX directory levels deep, where -1 (--depth=1) searches
the specified path without recursing into subdirectories. The short forms -3 -5, -3-5 and -3,5
search 3 to 5 levels deep. Enables -r if -R or -r is not specified.
--dotall
Dot `.' in regular expressions matches anything, including newline. Note that `.*' matches all
input and should not be used.
-E, --extended-regexp
Interpret patterns as extended regular expressions (EREs). This is the default.
-e PATTERN, --regexp=PATTERN
Specify a PATTERN to search the input. An input line is selected if it matches any of the
specified patterns. This option is useful when multiple -e options are used to specify multiple
patterns, or when a pattern starts with a dash (`-'), or to specify a pattern after option -f or
after the FILE arguments.
--encoding=ENCODING
The encoding format of the input. The default ENCODING is binary or UTF-8 which are treated the
same. Therefore, --encoding=binary has no effect. Note that option -U or --binary specifies
binary PATTERN matching (text matching is the default). ENCODING can be: `binary', `ASCII',
`UTF-8', `UTF-16', `UTF-16BE', `UTF-16LE', `UTF-32', `UTF-32BE', `UTF-32LE', `LATIN1',
`ISO-8859-1', `ISO-8859-2', `ISO-8859-3', `ISO-8859-4', `ISO-8859-5', `ISO-8859-6', `ISO-8859-7',
`ISO-8859-8', `ISO-8859-9', `ISO-8859-10', `ISO-8859-11', `ISO-8859-13', `ISO-8859-14',
`ISO-8859-15', `ISO-8859-16', `MAC', `MACROMAN', `EBCDIC', `CP437', `CP850', `CP858', `CP1250',
`CP1251', `CP1252', `CP1253', `CP1254', `CP1255', `CP1256', `CP1257', `CP1258', `KOI8-R',
`KOI8-U', `KOI8-RU', `null-data'.
--exclude=GLOB
Exclude files whose name matches GLOB, same as -g ^GLOB. GLOB can use **, *, ?, and [...] as
wildcards and \ to quote a wildcard or backslash character literally. When GLOB contains a `/',
full pathnames are matched. Otherwise basenames are matched. When GLOB ends with a `/',
directories are excluded as if --exclude-dir is specified. Otherwise files are excluded. Note
that --exclude patterns take priority over --include patterns. GLOB should be quoted to prevent
shell globbing. This option may be repeated.
--exclude-dir=GLOB
Exclude directories whose name matches GLOB from recursive searches, same as -g ^GLOB/. GLOB may
use **, *, ?, and [...] as wildcards and \ to quote a wildcard or backslash character literally.
When GLOB contains a `/', full pathnames are matched. Otherwise basenames are matched. Note that
--exclude-dir patterns take priority over --include-dir patterns. GLOB should be quoted to
prevent shell globbing. This option may be repeated.
--exclude-from=FILE
Read the globs from FILE and skip files and directories whose name matches one or more globs. A
glob may use **, *, ?, and [...] as wildcards and \ to quote a wildcard or backslash character
literally. When a glob contains a `/', full pathnames are matched. Otherwise basenames are
matched. When a glob ends with a `/', directories are excluded as if --exclude-dir is specified.
Otherwise files are excluded. A glob starting with a `!' overrides previously-specified
exclusions by including matching files. Lines starting with a `#' and empty lines in FILE are
ignored. When FILE is a `-', standard input is read. This option may be repeated.
--exclude-fs=MOUNTS
Exclude file systems specified by MOUNTS from recursive searches. MOUNTS is a comma-separated
list of mount points or pathnames to directories. When MOUNTS is not specified, only descends
into the file systems associated with the specified file and directory search targets, i.e.
excludes all other file systems. Note that --exclude-fs=MOUNTS take priority over
--include-fs=MOUNTS. This option may be repeated.
-F, --fixed-strings
Interpret pattern as a set of fixed strings, separated by newlines, any of which is to be matched.
This makes ugrep behave as fgrep. If a PATTERN is specified, or -e PATTERN or -N PATTERN, then
this option has no effect on -f FILE patterns to allow -f FILE patterns to narrow or widen the
scope of the PATTERN search.
-f FILE, --file=FILE
Read newline-separated patterns from FILE. White space in patterns is significant. Empty lines
in FILE are ignored. If FILE does not exist, the GREP_PATH environment variable is used as path
to FILE. If that fails, looks for FILE in /usr/local/share/ugrep/patterns. When FILE is a `-',
standard input is read. Empty files contain no patterns; thus nothing is matched. This option
may be repeated.
--filter=COMMANDS
Filter files through the specified COMMANDS first before searching. COMMANDS is a comma-separated
list of `exts:command arguments', where `exts' is a comma-separated list of filename extensions
and `command' is a filter utility. Files matching one of `exts' are filtered. A `*' matches any
file. The specified `command' may include arguments separated by spaces. An argument may be
quoted to include spacing, commas or a `%'. A `%' argument expands into the pathname to search.
For example, --filter='pdf:pdftotext % -' searches PDF files. The `%' expands into a `-' when
searching standard input. When a `%' is not specified, the filter command should read from
standard input and write to standard output. Option --label=.ext may be used to specify extension
`ext' when searching standard input. This option may be repeated.
--filter-magic-label=[+]LABEL:MAGIC
Associate LABEL with files whose signature "magic bytes" match the MAGIC regex pattern. Only
files that have no filename extension are labeled, unless +LABEL is specified. When LABEL matches
an extension specified in --filter=COMMANDS, the corresponding command is invoked. This option
may be repeated.
--format=FORMAT
Output FORMAT-formatted matches. For example --format='%f:%n:%O%~' outputs matching lines `%O'
with filename `%f` and line number `%n' followed by a newline `%~'. If -P is specified, FORMAT
may include `%1' to `%9', `%[NUM]#' and `%[NAME]#' to output group captures. A `%%' outputs `%'.
See `ugrep --help format' and `man ugrep' section FORMAT for details. When option -o is
specified, option -u is also enabled. Context options -A, -B, -C and -y are ignored.
--free-space
Spacing (blanks and tabs) in regular expressions are ignored.
--from=FILE
Read additional pathnames of files to search from FILE. When FILE is a `-', standard input is
read. This option is useful with `find
-G, --basic-regexp
Interpret patterns as basic regular expressions (BREs).
-g GLOBS, --glob=GLOBS, --iglob=GLOBS
Only search files whose name matches the specified comma-separated list of GLOBS, same as
--include='glob' for each `glob' in GLOBS. When a `glob' is preceded by a `!' or a `^', skip
files whose name matches `glob', same as --exclude='glob'. When `glob' contains a `/', full
pathnames are matched and option -r is enabled to recurse into directories if -d, -r or -R is not
already specified. Otherwise basenames are matched. When `glob' ends with a `/', directories are
matched, same as --include-dir='glob' and --exclude-dir='glob'. A leading `./' or just `/'
matches the working directory. Option --iglob=GLOBS performs case-insensitive name matching.
This option may be repeated and may be combined with options -M, -O and -t. For more details, see
`ugrep --help globs' and `man ugrep' section GLOBBING for details.
--glob-ignore-case
Perform case-insensitive glob matching in general.
--group-separator[=SEP]
Use SEP as a group separator for context options -A, -B and -C. The default is a double hyphen
(`--').
--no-group-separator
Removes the group separator line from the output for context options -A, -B and -C.
-H, --with-filename
Always print the filename with output lines. This is the default when there is more than one file
to search.
-h, --no-filename
Never print filenames with output lines. This is the default when there is only one file (or only
standard input) to search.
--heading, -+
Group matches per file. Adds a heading and a line break between results from different files.
This option is enabled by --pretty when the output is sent to a terminal.
--help [WHAT], -? [WHAT]
Display a help message on options related to WHAT when specified. In addition, `--help regex'
displays an overview of regular expressions, `--help globs' displays an overview of glob syntax
and conventions, `--help fuzzy' displays details of fuzzy search, and `--help format' displays a
list of option --format=FORMAT fields.
--hexdump[=[1-8][a][bch][A[NUM]][B[NUM]][C[NUM]]]
Output matches in 1 to 8 columns of 8 hexadecimal octets. The default is 2 columns or 16 octets
per line. Argument `a' outputs a `*' for all hex lines that are identical to the previous hex
line, `b' removes all space breaks, `c' removes the character column, `h' removes hex spacing, `A'
includes up to NUM hex lines after a match, `B' includes up to NUM hex lines before a match and
`C' includes up to NUM hex lines before and after a match. Arguments `A', `B' and `C' are the
same as options -A, -B and -C when used with --hexdump. See also options -U, -W and -X.
--hidden, -.
Search hidden files and directories (enabled by default in grep compatibility mode).
--hyperlink[=[PREFIX][+]]
Hyperlinks are enabled for file names when colors are enabled. Same as --colors=hl. When PREFIX
is specified, replaces file:// with PREFIX:// in the hyperlink. A `+' includes the line number in
the hyperlink and when option -k is specified, the column number.
-I, --ignore-binary
Ignore matches in binary files. This option is equivalent to the --binary-files=without-match
option.
-i, --ignore-case
Perform case insensitive matching. By default, ugrep is case sensitive.
--ignore-files[=FILE]
Ignore files and directories matching the globs in each FILE that is encountered in recursive
searches. The default FILE is `.gitignore'. Matching files and directories located in the
directory of the FILE and in subdirectories below are ignored. Globbing syntax is the same as the
--exclude-from=FILE gitignore syntax, but files and directories are excluded instead of only
files. Directories are specifically excluded when the glob ends in a `/'. Files and directories
explicitly specified as command line arguments are never ignored. This option may be repeated to
specify additional files.
--no-ignore-files
Do not ignore files, i.e. cancel --ignore-files when specified.
--include=GLOB
Only search files whose name matches GLOB, same as -g GLOB. GLOB may use **, *, ?, and [...] as
wildcards and \ to quote a wildcard or backslash character literally. When GLOB contains a `/',
full pathnames are matched and option -r is enabled to recurse into directories if -d, -r or -R is
not already specified. Otherwise basenames are matched. When GLOB ends with a `/', directories
are included as if --include-dir is specified. Otherwise files are included. Note that --exclude
patterns take priority over --include patterns. GLOB should be quoted to prevent shell globbing.
This option may be repeated.
--include-dir=GLOB
Only directories whose name matches GLOB are included in recursive searches, same as -g GLOB/.
GLOB may use **, *, ?, and [...] as wildcards and \ to quote a wildcard or backslash character
literally. When GLOB contains a `/', full pathnames are matched and option -r is enabled to
recurse into directories if -d, -r or -R is not already specified. Otherwise basenames are
matched. Note that --exclude-dir patterns take priority over --include-dir patterns. GLOB should
be quoted to prevent shell globbing. This option may be repeated.
--include-from=FILE
Read the globs from FILE and search only files and directories whose name matches one or more
globs. A glob may use **, *, ?, and [...] as wildcards and \ to quote a wildcard or backslash
character literally. When a glob contains a `/', full pathnames are matched. Otherwise basenames
are matched. When a glob ends with a `/', directories are included as if --include-dir is
specified. Otherwise files are included. A glob starting with a `!' overrides
previously-specified inclusions by excluding matching files. Lines starting with a `#' and empty
lines in FILE are ignored. When FILE is a `-', standard input is read. This option may be
repeated.
--include-fs=MOUNTS
Only file systems specified by MOUNTS are included in recursive searches. MOUNTS is a
comma-separated list of mount points or pathnames to directories. When MOUNTS is not specified,
restricts recursive searches to the file system of the working directory, same as --include-fs=.
(dot). Note that --exclude-fs=MOUNTS take priority over --include-fs=MOUNTS. This option may be
repeated.
--index
Perform fast index-based recursive search. This option assumes, but does not require, that files
are indexed with ugrep-indexer. This option also enables option -r or --recursive. Skips indexed
non-matching files, archives and compressed files. Significant acceleration may be achieved on
cold (not file-cached) and large file systems, or any file system that is slow to search. Note
that the start-up time to search may be increased when complex search patterns are specified that
contain large Unicode character classes combined with `*' or `+' repeats, which should be avoided.
Option -U or --ascii improves performance. Option --stats displays an index search report.
-J NUM, --jobs=NUM
Specifies the number of threads spawned to search files. By default an optimum number of threads
is spawned to search files simultaneously. -J1 disables threading: files are searched in the same
order as specified.
-j, --smart-case
Perform case insensitive matching, unless a pattern is specified with a literal upper case letter.
--json Output file matches in JSON. When -H, -n, -k, or -b is specified, additional values are output.
See also options --format and -u.
-K [MIN,][MAX], --range=[MIN,][MAX], --min-line=MIN, --max-line=MAX
Start searching at line MIN, stop at line MAX when specified.
-k, --column-number
The column number of a pattern match is displayed in front of the respective matched line,
starting at column 1. Tabs are expanded in counting columns, see also option --tabs.
-L, --files-without-match
Only the names of files not containing selected lines are written to standard output. Pathnames
are listed once per file searched. If the standard input is searched, the string ``(standard
input)'' is written.
-l, --files-with-matches
Only the names of files containing selected lines are written to standard output. ugrep will only
search a file until a match has been found, making searches potentially less expensive. Pathnames
are listed once per file searched. If the standard input is searched, the string ``(standard
input)'' is written.
--label=LABEL
Displays the LABEL value when input is read from standard input where a file name would normally
be printed in the output. Associates a filename extension with standard input when LABEL has a
suffix. The default value is `(standard input)'.
--line-buffered
Force output to be line buffered instead of block buffered.
--lines
Boolean line matching mode for option --bool, the default mode.
-M MAGIC, --file-magic=MAGIC
Only search files matching the magic signature pattern MAGIC. The signature "magic bytes" at the
start of a file are compared to the MAGIC regex pattern. When matching, the file will be
searched. When MAGIC is preceded by a `!' or a `^', skip files with matching MAGIC signatures.
This option may be repeated and may be combined with options -O and -t. Every file on the search
path is read, making recursive searches potentially more expensive.
-m [MIN,][MAX], --min-count=MIN, --max-count=MAX
Require MIN matches, stop after MAX matches when specified. Output MIN to MAX matches. For
example, -m1 outputs the first match and -cm1, (with a comma) counts nonzero matches. When -u or
--ungroup is specified, each individual match counts. See also option -K.
--match
Match all input. Same as specifying an empty pattern to search.
--max-files=NUM
Restrict the number of files matched to NUM. Note that --sort or -J1 may be specified to produce
replicable results. If --sort is specified, then the number of threads spawned is limited to NUM.
--mmap[=MAX]
Use memory maps to search files. By default, memory maps are used under certain conditions to
improve performance. When MAX is specified, use up to MAX mmap memory per thread.
-N PATTERN, --neg-regexp=PATTERN
Specify a negative PATTERN to reject specific -e PATTERN matches with a counter pattern. Note
that longer patterns take precedence over shorter patterns, i.e. a negative pattern must be of the
same length or longer to reject matching patterns. Option -N cannot be specified with -P. This
option may be repeated.
-n, --line-number
Each output line is preceded by its relative line number in the file, starting at line 1. The
line number counter is reset for each file processed.
--not [-e] PATTERN
Specifies that PATTERN should not match. Note that -e A --not -e B matches lines with `A' or
lines without a `B'. To match lines with `A' that have no `B', specify -e A --andnot -e B.
Option --stats displays the search patterns applied. See also options --and, --andnot, --bool,
--files and --lines.
--null, -0
Output a zero byte after the file name. This option can be used with commands such as `find
-print0' and `xargs -0' to process arbitrary file names, even those that contain newlines. See
also options -H or --with-filename and --null-data.
--null-data, -00
Input and output are treated as sequences of lines with each line terminated by a zero byte
instead of a newline; effectively swaps NUL with LF in the input and the output. When combined
with option --encoding=ENCODING, output each line terminated by a zero byte without affecting the
input specified as per ENCODING. Instead of option --null-data, option --encoding=null-data
treats the input as a sequence of lines terminated by a zero byte without affecting the output.
Option --null-data is not compatible with UTF-16/32 input. See also options --encoding and
--null.
-O EXTENSIONS, --file-extension=EXTENSIONS
Only search files whose filename extensions match the specified comma-separated list of
EXTENSIONS, same as -g '*.ext' for each `ext' in EXTENSIONS. When an `ext' is preceded by a `!'
or a `^', skip files whose filename extensions matches `ext', same as -g '^*.ext'. This option
may be repeated and may be combined with options -g, -M and -t.
-o, --only-matching
Only the matching part of a pattern match is output. When -A, -B or -C is specified, fits the
match and its context on a line within the specified number of columns.
--only-line-number
Only the line number of a matching line is output. The line number counter is reset for each file
processed.
--files, -%%
Boolean file matching mode, the opposite of --lines. When combined with option --bool, matches a
file if all Boolean conditions are satisfied. For example, --bool --files 'A B|C -D' matches a
file if some lines match `A', and some lines match either `B' or `C', and no line matches `D'.
See also options --and, --andnot, --not, --bool and --lines. The double short option -%% enables
options --bool --files.
-P, --perl-regexp
Interpret PATTERN as a Perl regular expression using PCRE2. Note that Perl pattern matching
differs from the default grep POSIX pattern matching.
-p, --no-dereference
If -R or -r is specified, do not follow symbolic links, even when symbolic links are specified on
the command line.
--pager[=COMMAND]
When output is sent to the terminal, uses COMMAND to page through the output. COMMAND defaults to
environment variable PAGER when defined or `less'. Enables --heading and --line-buffered.
--pretty[=WHEN]
When output is sent to a terminal, enables --color, --heading, -n, --sort, --tree and -T when not
explicitly disabled. WHEN can be `never', `always', or `auto'. The default is `auto'.
-Q[=DELAY], --query[=DELAY]
Query mode: start a TUI to perform interactive searches. This mode requires an ANSI capable
terminal. An optional DELAY argument may be specified to reduce or increase the response time to
execute searches after the last key press, in increments of 100ms, where the default is 3 (300ms
delay). No whitespace may be given between -Q and its argument DELAY. Initial patterns may be
specified with -e PATTERN, i.e. a PATTERN argument requires option -e. Press F1 or CTRL-Z to view
the help screen. Press F2 or CTRL-Y to invoke a command to view or edit the file shown at the top
of the screen. This command can be specified with option --view and defaults to environment
variable PAGER when defined, or VISUAL or EDITOR. Press TAB or SHIFT-TAB to navigate directories
and to select a file to search. Press ENTER to select lines to output. Press ALT-l for option -l
to list files, ALT-n for -n, etc. Non-option commands include ALT-] to increase context and ALT-}
to increase fuzzyness. If ALT or OPTION keys are not available, then press CTRL-O + KEY to switch
option `KEY', or press F1 or CTRL-Z for help and press KEY. See also options --no-confirm,
--delay, --split and --view.
-q, --quiet, --silent
Quiet mode: suppress all output. Only search a file until a match has been found.
-R, --dereference-recursive
Recursively read all files under each directory, following symbolic links to files and
directories, unlike -r.
-r, --recursive
Recursively read all files under each directory, following symbolic links only if they are on the
command line. Note that when no FILE arguments are specified and input is read from a terminal,
recursive searches are performed as if -r is specified.
--replace=FORMAT
Replace matching patterns in the output by FORMAT with `%' fields. If -P is specified, FORMAT may
include `%1' to `%9', `%[NUM]#' and `%[NAME]#' to output group captures. A `%%' outputs `%' and
`%~' outputs a newline. See also option --format, `ugrep --help format' and `man ugrep' section
FORMAT for details.
-S, --dereference-files
When -r is specified, follow symbolic links to files, but not to directories. The default is not
to follow symbolic links.
-s, --no-messages
Silent mode: nonexistent and unreadable files are ignored and their error messages and warnings
are suppressed.
--save-config[=FILE] [OPTIONS]
Save configuration FILE to include OPTIONS. Update FILE when first loaded with --config=FILE.
The default FILE is `.ugrep', which is automatically loaded by the ug command. When FILE is a
`-', writes the configuration to standard output. Only part of the OPTIONS are saved that do not
cause searches to fail when combined with other options. Additional options may be specified by
editing the saved configuration file. A configuration file may be modified by adding one or more
config=FILE to include configuration files, but recursive configuration file inclusion is not
permitted.
--separator[=SEP], --context-separator=SEP
Use SEP as field separator between file name, line number, column number, byte offset and the
matched line. The default separator is a colon (`:') and a bar (`|') for multi-line pattern
matches, and a dash (`-') for context lines. See also option --group-separator.
--split
Split the -Q query TUI screen on startup.
--sort[=KEY]
Displays matching files in the order specified by KEY in recursive searches. Normally the ug
command sorts by name whereas the ugrep batch command displays matches in no particular order to
improve performance. The sort KEY can be `name' to sort by pathname (default), `best' to sort by
best match with option -Z (sort by best match requires two passes over files, which is expensive),
`size' to sort by file size, `used' to sort by last access time, `changed' to sort by last
modification time and `created' to sort by creation time. Sorting is reversed with `rname',
`rbest', `rsize', `rused', `rchanged', or `rcreated'. Archive contents are not sorted.
Subdirectories are sorted and displayed after matching files. FILE arguments are searched in the
same order as specified.
--stats
Output statistics on the number of files and directories searched and the inclusion and exclusion
constraints applied.
-T, --initial-tab
Add a tab space to separate the file name, line number, column number and byte offset with the
matched line.
-t TYPES, --file-type=TYPES
Search only files associated with TYPES, a comma-separated list of file types. Each file type
corresponds to a set of filename extensions passed to option -O and filenames passed to option -g.
For capitalized file types, the search is expanded to include files with matching file signature
magic bytes, as if passed to option -M. When a type is preceded by a `!' or a `^', excludes files
of the specified type. Specifying the initial part of a type name suffices when the choice is
unambiguous. This option may be repeated. The possible file types can be (-tlist displays a
list): `actionscript', `ada', `adoc', `asm', `asp', `aspx', `autoconf', `automake', `awk', `Awk',
`basic', `batch', `bison', `c', `c++', `clojure', `cpp', `csharp', `css', `csv', `dart', `Dart',
`delphi', `elisp', `elixir', `erlang', `fortran', `gif', `Gif', `go', `groovy', `gsp', `haskell',
`html', `jade', `java', `jpeg', `Jpeg', `js', `json', `jsp', `julia', `kotlin', `less', `lex',
`lisp', `lua', `m4', `make', `markdown', `matlab', `node', `Node', `objc', `objc++', `ocaml',
`parrot', `pascal', `pdf', `Pdf', `perl', `Perl', `php', `Php', `png', `Png', `prolog', `python',
`Python', `r', `rpm', `Rpm', `rst', `rtf', `Rtf', `ruby', `Ruby', `rust', `scala', `scheme',
`seed7', `shell', `Shell', `smalltalk', `sql', `svg', `swift', `tcl', `tex', `text', `tiff',
`Tiff', `tt', `typescript', `verilog', `vhdl', `vim', `xml', `Xml', `yacc', `yaml', `zig'.
--tabs[=NUM]
Set the tab size to NUM to expand tabs for option -k. The value of NUM may be 1 (no expansion),
2, 4, or 8. The default size is 8.
--tag[=TAG[,END]]
Disables colors to mark up matches with TAG. END marks the end of a match if specified, otherwise
TAG. The default is `___'.
--tree, -^
Output directories with matching files in a tree-like format for option -c or --count, -l or
--files-with-matches, -L or --files-without-match. This option is enabled by --pretty when the
output is sent to a terminal.
-U, --ascii, --binary
Disables Unicode matching for ASCII and binary matching. PATTERN matches bytes, not Unicode
characters. For example, -U '\xa3' matches byte A3 (hex) instead of the Unicode code point U+00A3
represented by the UTF-8 sequence C2 A3. See also option --dotall.
-u, --ungroup
Do not group multiple pattern matches on the same matched line. Output the matched line again for
each additional pattern match.
-V, --version
Display version with linked libraries and exit.
-v, --invert-match
Selected lines are those not matching any of the specified patterns.
--view[=COMMAND]
Use COMMAND to view/edit a file in -Q query TUI by pressing CTRL-Y.
-W, --with-hex
Output binary matches in hexadecimal, leaving text matches alone. This option is equivalent to
the --binary-files=with-hex option. To omit the matching line from the hex output, use both
options -W and --hexdump. See also options -U.
-w, --word-regexp
The PATTERN is searched for as a word, such that the matching text is preceded by a non-word
character and is followed by a non-word character. Word-like characters are Unicode letters,
digits and connector punctuations such as underscore.
--width[=NUM]
Truncate the output to NUM visible characters per line. The width of the terminal window is used
if NUM is not specified. Note that double-width characters in the output may result in wider
lines.
-X, --hex
Output matches and matching lines in hexadecimal. This option is equivalent to the
--binary-files=hex option. To omit the matching line from the hex output use option --hexdump.
See also option -U.
-x, --line-regexp
Select only those matches that exactly match the whole line, as if the patterns are surrounded by
^ and $.
--xml Output file matches in XML. When -H, -n, -k, or -b is specified, additional values are output.
See also options --format and -u.
-Y, --empty
Empty-matching patterns match all lines. Normally, empty matches are not output, unless a pattern
starts with `^' or ends with `$'. With this option, empty-matching patterns, such as x*y?,
x*y*z*, and x*(y?|z) match all lines, not only the expected pattern. This option is enabled by
default in grep compatibility mode; specify option --no-empty to prevent matching all lines.
-y, --any-line, --passthru
Any line is output (passthru). Non-matching lines are output as context with a `-' separator.
See also options -A, -B and -C.
-Z[best][+-~][MAX], --fuzzy[=[best][+-~][MAX]]
Fuzzy mode: report approximate pattern matches within MAX errors. The default is -Z1: one
deletion, insertion or substitution is allowed. If `+`, `-' and/or `~' is specified, then `+'
allows insertions, `-' allows deletions and `~' allows substitutions. For example, -Z+~3 allows
up to three insertions or substitutions, but no deletions. If `best' is specified, then only the
best matching lines are output with the lowest cost per file. Option -Zbest requires two passes
over a file and cannot be used with standard input or Boolean queries. Option --sort=best orders
matching files by best match. The first character of an approximate match always matches a
character at the beginning of the pattern. To fuzzy match the first character, replace it with a
`.' or `.?'. Option -U applies fuzzy matching to ASCII and bytes instead of Unicode text. No
whitespace may be given between -Z and its argument.
-z, --decompress
Search compressed files and archives. Archives (.cpio, .pax, .tar) and compressed archives (e.g.
.zip, .7z, .taz, .tgz, .tpz, .tbz, .tbz2, .tb2, .tz2, .tlz, .txz, .tzst) are searched and matching
pathnames of files in archives are output in braces. When used with option --zmax=NUM, searches
the contents of compressed files and archives stored within archives up to NUM levels. When -g,
-O, -M, or -t is specified, searches archives for files that match the specified globs, filename
extensions, file signature magic bytes, or file types, respectively; a side-effect of these
options is that the compressed files and archives searched are only those with filename extensions
that match known compression and archive types. Supported compression formats: gzip (.gz),
compress (.Z), zip, 7z, bzip2 (.bz, .bz2, .bzip2, .tbz, .tbz2, .tb2, .tz2), xz (.xz, .txz) and
lzma (requires suffix .lzma, .tlz), zstd (.zst, .zstd, .tzst), lz4 (requires suffix .lz4), brotli
(requires suffix .br), bzip3 (requires suffix .bz3).
--zmax=NUM
When used with option -z or --decompress, searches the contents of compressed files and archives
stored within archives by up to NUM expansion stages. The default --zmax=1 only permits searching
uncompressed files stored in cpio, pax, tar, zip and 7z archives; compressed files and archives
are detected as binary files and are effectively ignored. Specify --zmax=2 to search compressed
files and archives stored in cpio, pax, tar, zip and 7z archives. NUM may range from 1 to 99 for
up to 99 decompression and de-archiving steps. Increasing NUM values gradually degrades
performance.
EXIT STATUS
The ugrep utility exits with one of the following values:
0 One or more lines were selected.
1 No lines were selected.
>1 An error occurred.
If -q or --quiet or --silent is used and a line is selected, the exit status is 0 even if an error
occurred.
CONFIGURATION
The ug command is intended for interactive searching and is equivalent to the ugrep --config --pretty
--sort command to load the `.ugrep` configuration file located in the working directory or, when not
found, in the home directory.
A configuration file contains `NAME=VALUE' pairs per line, where `NAME` is the name of a long option
(without `--') and `=VALUE' is an argument, which is optional and may be omitted depending on the option.
Empty lines and lines starting with a `#' are ignored.
The --config=FILE option and its abbreviated form ---FILE load the specified configuration file located
in the working directory or, when not found, in the home directory. An error is produced when FILE is
not found or cannot be read.
Command line options are parsed in the following order: the configuration file is loaded first, followed
by the remaining options and arguments on the command line.
The --save-config option saves a `.ugrep' configuration file to the working directory with a subset of
the options specified on the command line. Only part of the specified options are saved that do not
cause searches to fail when combined with other options. The --save-config=FILE option saves the
configuration to FILE. The configuration is written to standard output when FILE is a `-'.
GLOBBING
Globbing is used by options -g (--glob and --iglob), --include, --include-dir, --include-from, --exclude,
--exclude-dir, --exclude-from and --ignore-files to match pathnames or basenames in recursive searches.
Glob arguments for these options should be quoted to prevent shell globbing.
Globbing supports gitignore syntax and the corresponding matching rules, except that a glob normally
matches files but not directories. If a glob ends in a path separator `/', then it matches directories
but not files, as if --include-dir or --exclude-dir is specified. When a glob contains a path separator
`/', the full pathname is matched. Otherwise the basename of a file or directory is matched. For
example, *.h matches foo.h and bar/foo.h. bar/*.h matches bar/foo.h but not foo.h and not bar/bar/foo.h.
Use a leading `./' or just `/' to force /*.h to match foo.h in the working directory but not bar/foo.h.
When a glob starts with a `^' or a `!' as in -g^GLOB, the match is negated. Likewise, a `!' (but not a
`^') may be used with globs in the files specified --include-from, --exclude-from, and --ignore-files to
negate the glob match. Empty lines or lines starting with a `#' are ignored.
Glob Syntax and Conventions
* Matches anything except /.
? Matches any one character except /.
[abc-e]
Matches one character a,b,c,d,e.
[^abc-e]
Matches one character not a,b,c,d,e,/.
[!abc-e]
Matches one character not a,b,c,d,e,/.
/ When used at the start of a glob, matches the working directory. When used at the end of a glob,
matches directories only.
**/ Matches zero or more directories.
/** When used at the end of a glob, matches everything after the /.
\? Matches a ? or any other character specified after the backslash.
Glob Matching Examples
* Matches a, b, x/a, x/y/b
a Matches a, x/a, x/y/a, but not b, x/b, a/a/b
/* Matches a, b, but not x/a, x/b, x/y/a
/a Matches a, but not x/a, x/y/a
a?b Matches axb, ayb, but not a, b, ab, a/b
a[xy]b Matches axb, ayb but not a, b, azb
a[a-z]b
Matches aab, abb, acb, azb, but not a, b, a3b, aAb, aZb
a[^xy]b
Matches aab, abb, acb, azb, but not a, b, axb, ayb
a[^a-z]b
Matches a3b, aAb, aZb but not a, b, aab, abb, acb, azb
a/*/b Matches a/x/b, a/y/b, but not a/b, a/x/y/b
**/a Matches a, x/a, x/y/a, but not b, x/b.
a/**/b Matches a/b, a/x/b, a/x/y/b, but not x/a/b, a/b/x
a/** Matches a/x, a/y, a/x/y, but not a, b/x
a\?b Matches a?b, but not a, b, ab, axb, a/b
Note that exclude glob patterns take priority over include glob patterns when specified with options -g,
--exclude, --exclude-dir, --include and include-dir.
Glob patterns specified with prefix `!' in any of the files associated with --include-from, --exclude-
from and --ignore-files will negate a previous glob match. That is, any matching file or directory
excluded by a previous glob pattern specified in the files associated with --exclude-from or --ignore-
file will become included again. Likewise, any matching file or directory included by a previous glob
pattern specified in the files associated with --include-from will become excluded again.
ENVIRONMENT
GREP_PATH
May be used to specify a file path to pattern files. The file path is used by option -f to open a
pattern file, when the pattern file does not exist. Defaults to /usr/local/share/ugrep/patterns
when GREP_PATH is undefined.
GREP_COLOR
May be used to specify ANSI SGR parameters to highlight matches when option --color is used, e.g.
1;35;40 shows pattern matches in bold magenta text on a black background. Deprecated in favor of
GREP_COLORS, but still supported.
GREP_COLORS
May be used to specify ANSI SGR parameters to highlight matches and other attributes when option
--color is used. Its value is a colon-separated list of ANSI SGR parameters that defaults to
cx=33:mt=1;31:fn=1;35:ln=1;32:cn=1;32:bn=1;32:se=36 with additional parameters for TUI colors
:qp=1;32:qe=1;37;41:qm=1;32:ql=36:qb=1;35. The mt=, ms=, and mc= capabilities of GREP_COLORS take
priority over GREP_COLOR. Option --colors takes priority over GREP_COLORS.
GREP_COLORS
Colors are specified as string of colon-separated ANSI SGR parameters of the form `what=substring', where
`substring' is a semicolon-separated list of ANSI SGR codes or `k' (black), `r' (red), `g' (green), `y'
(yellow), `b' (blue), `m' (magenta), `c' (cyan), `w' (white). Upper case specifies background colors. A
`+' qualifies a color as bright. A foreground and a background color may be combined with one or more
font properties `n' (normal), `f' (faint), `h' (highlight), `i' (invert), `u' (underline). Substrings
may be specified for:
sl= selected lines.
cx= context lines.
rv swaps the sl= and cx= capabilities when -v is specified.
mt= matching text in any matching line.
ms= matching text in a selected line. The substring mt= by default.
mc= matching text in a context line. The substring mt= by default.
fn= filenames.
ln= line numbers.
cn= column numbers.
bn= byte offsets.
se= separators.
rv a Boolean parameter, switches sl= and cx= with option -v.
hl a Boolean parameter, enables filename hyperlinks (\33]8;;link).
ne a Boolean parameter, disables ``erase in line'' \33[K.
qp= TUI prompt.
qe= TUI errors.
qr= TUI regex.
qm= TUI regex meta characters.
ql= TUI regex lists and literals.
qb= TUI regex braces.
FORMAT
Option --format=FORMAT specifies an output format for matches. Option --replace=FORMAT only replaces the
matching patterns. Fields may be used in FORMAT, which expand into the following values:
%[TEXT]F
if option -H is used: TEXT, the file pathname and separator.
%f the file pathname.
%a the file basename without directory path.
%p the directory path to the file.
%z the file pathname in a (compressed) archive.
%[TEXT]H
if option -H is used: TEXT, the quoted pathname and separator, \" and \\ replace " and \.
%h the quoted file pathname, \" and \\ replace " and \.
%[TEXT]I
if option -H is used: TEXT, the pathname as XML character data and separator.
%i the file pathname as XML character data.
%[TEXT]N
if option -n is used: TEXT, the line number and separator.
%n the line number of the match.
%[TEXT]K
if option -k is used: TEXT, the column number and separator.
%k the column number of the match.
%[TEXT]B
if option -b is used: TEXT, the byte offset and separator.
%b the byte offset of the match.
%[TEXT]T
if option -T is used: TEXT and a tab character.
%t a tab character.
%[SEP]$
set field separator to SEP for the rest of the format fields.
%[TEXT]<
if the first match: TEXT.
%[TEXT]>
if not the first match: TEXT.
%, if not the first match: a comma, same as %[,]>.
%: if not the first match: a colon, same as %[:]>.
%; if not the first match: a semicolon, same as %[;]>.
%| if not the first match: a vertical bar, same as %[|]>.
%[TEXT]S
if not the first match: TEXT and separator, see also %[SEP]$.
%s the separator, see also %[TEXT]S and %[SEP]$.
%~ a newline character.
%M the number of matching lines
%m the number of matches
%O the matching line is output as a raw string of bytes.
%o the match is output as a raw string of bytes.
%Q the matching line as a quoted string, \" and \\ replace " and \.
%q the match as a quoted string, \" and \\ replace " and \.
%C the matching line formatted as a quoted C/C++ string.
%c the match formatted as a quoted C/C++ string.
%J the matching line formatted as a quoted JSON string.
%j the match formatted as a quoted JSON string.
%V the matching line formatted as a quoted CSV string.
%v the match formatted as a quoted CSV string.
%X the matching line formatted as XML character data.
%x the match formatted as XML character data.
%w the width of the match, counting wide characters.
%d the size of the match, counting bytes.
%e the ending byte offset of the match.
%Z the edit distance cost of an approximate match with option -Z
%u select unique lines only, unless option -u is used.
%1 the first regex group capture of the match, and so on up to group %9, same as %[1]#; requires
option -P.
%[NUM]#
the regex group capture NUM; requires option -P.
%[NUM]b
the byte offset of the group capture NUM; requires option -P. Use e for the ending byte offset
and d for the byte length.
%[NUM1|NUM2|...]#
the first group capture NUM that matched; requires option -P.
%[NUM1|NUM2|...]b
the byte offset of the first group capture NUM that matched; requires option -P. Use e for the
ending byte offset and d for the byte length.
%[NAME]#
the NAMEd group capture; requires option -P and capturing pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)', see also %G.
%[NAME]b
the byte offset of the NAMEd group capture; requires option -P and capturing pattern
`(?<NAME>PATTERN)'. Use e for the ending byte offset and d for the byte length.
%[NAME1|NAME2|...]#
the first NAMEd group capture that matched; requires option -P and capturing pattern
`(?<NAME>PATTERN)', see also %G.
%[NAME1|NAME2|...]b
the byte offset of the first NAMEd group capture that matched; requires option -P and capturing
pattern `(?<NAME>PATTERN)'. Use e for the ending byte offset and d for the byte length.
%G list of group capture indices/names that matched; requires option -P.
%[TEXT1|TEXT2|...]G
list of TEXT indexed by group capture indices that matched; requires option -P.
%g the group capture index/name matched or 1; requires option -P.
%[TEXT1|TEXT2|...]g
the first TEXT indexed by the first group capture index that matched; requires option -P.
%% the percentage sign.
Formatted output is written without a terminating newline, unless %~ or `\n' is explicitly specified in
the format string.
The [TEXT] part of a field is optional and may be omitted. When present, the argument must be placed in
[] brackets, for example %[,]F to output a comma, the pathname, and a separator.
%[SEP]$ and %u are switches and do not send anything to the output.
The separator used by the %F, %H, %I, %N, %K, %B, %S and %G fields may be changed by preceding the field
by %[SEP]$. When [SEP] is not provided, this reverts the separator to the default separator or the
separator specified with --separator.
Formatted output is written for each matching pattern, which means that a line may be output multiple
times when patterns match more than once on the same line. If field %u is specified anywhere in a format
string, matching lines are output only once, unless option -u, --ungroup is specified or when more than
one line of input matched the search pattern.
Additional formatting options:
--format-begin=FORMAT
the FORMAT when beginning the search.
--format-open=FORMAT
the FORMAT when opening a file and a match was found.
--format-close=FORMAT
the FORMAT when closing a file and a match was found.
--format-end=FORMAT
the FORMAT when ending the search.
The context options -A, -B, -C, -y, and display options --break, --heading, --color, -T, and --null have
no effect on formatted output.
EXAMPLES
Display lines containing the word `patricia' in `myfile.txt':
$ ugrep -w patricia myfile.txt
Display lines containing the word `patricia', ignoring case:
$ ugrep -wi patricia myfile.txt
Display lines approximately matching the word `patricia', ignoring case and allowing up to 2 spelling
errors using fuzzy search:
$ ugrep -Z2 -wi patricia myfile.txt
Count the number of lines containing `patricia', ignoring case:
$ ugrep -cwi patricia myfile.txt
Count the number of words `patricia', ignoring case:
$ ugrep -cowi patricia myfile.txt
List lines with `amount' and a decimal, ignoring case (space is AND):
$ ugrep -i -% 'amount \d+(\.\d+)?' myfile.txt
The same Boolean search query, but with options -e and --and:
$ ugrep -wi -e amount --and '\d+(\.\d+)?' myfile.txt
List all Unicode words in a file:
$ ugrep -o '\w+' myfile.txt
List the laughing face emojis (Unicode code points U+1F600 to U+1F60F):
$ ugrep -o '[\x{1F600}-\x{1F60F}]' myfile.txt
Check if a file contains any non-ASCII (i.e. Unicode) characters:
$ ugrep -q '[^[:ascii:]]' myfile.txt && echo "contains Unicode"
Display the line and column number of `FIXME' in C++ files using recursive search, with one line of
context before and after a matched line:
$ ugrep -C1 -R -n -k -tc++ FIXME
Display the line and column number of `FIXME' in long Javascript files using recursive search, showing
only matches with up to 10 characters of context before and after:
$ ugrep -o -C20 -R -n -k -tjs FIXME
Find blocks of text between lines matching BEGIN and END by using a lazy quantifier `*?' to match only
what is necessary and pattern `\n' to match newlines:
$ ugrep -n 'BEGIN.*\n(.*\n)*?.*END' myfile.txt
Likewise, list the C/C++ comments in a file and line numbers:
$ ugrep -n -e '//.*' -e '/\*(.*\n)*?.*\*+\/' myfile.cpp
The same, but using predefined pattern c++/comments:
$ ugrep -n -f c++/comments myfile.cpp
List the lines that need fixing in a C/C++ source file by looking for the word `FIXME' while skipping any
`FIXME' in quoted strings:
$ ugrep -e FIXME -N '"(\\.|\\\r?\n|[^\\\n"])*"' myfile.cpp
The same, but using predefined pattern cpp/zap_strings:
$ ugrep -e FIXME -f cpp/zap_strings myfile.cpp
Find lines with `FIXME' or `TODO', showing line numbers:
$ ugrep -n -e FIXME -e TODO myfile.cpp
Find lines with `FIXME' that also contain `urgent':
$ ugrep -n -e FIXME --and urgent myfile.cpp
The same, but with a Boolean query pattern (a space is AND):
$ ugrep -n -% 'FIXME urgent' myfile.cpp
Find lines with `FIXME' that do not also contain `later':
$ ugrep -n -e FIXME --andnot later myfile.cpp
The same, but with a Boolean query pattern (a space is AND, - is NOT):
$ ugrep -n -% 'FIXME -later' myfile.cpp
Output a list of line numbers of lines with `FIXME' but not `later':
$ ugrep -e FIXME --andnot later --format='%,%n' myfile.cpp
Recursively list all files with both `FIXME' and `LICENSE' anywhere in the file, not necessarily on the
same line:
$ ugrep -l -%% 'FIXME LICENSE'
Find lines with `FIXME' in the C/C++ files stored in a tarball:
$ ugrep -z -tc++ -n FIXME project.tgz
Recursively find lines with `FIXME' in C/C++ files, but do not search any `bak' and `old' directories:
$ ugrep -n FIXME -tc++ -g^bak/,^old/
Recursively search for the word `copyright' in cpio, jar, pax, tar, zip, 7z archives, compressed and
regular files, and in PDFs using a PDF filter:
$ ugrep -z -w --filter='pdf:pdftotext % -' copyright
Match the binary pattern `A3hhhhA3' (hex) in a binary file without Unicode pattern matching -U (which
would otherwise match `\xaf' as a Unicode character U+00A3 with UTF-8 byte sequence C2 A3) and display
the results in hex with --hexdump with C1 to output one hex line before and after each match:
$ ugrep -U --hexdump=C1 '\xa3[\x00-\xff]{2}\xa3' a.out
Hexdump an entire file using a pager for viewing:
$ ugrep -X --pager '' a.out
List all files that are not ignored by one or more `.gitignore':
$ ugrep -l '' --ignore-files
List all files containing a RPM signature, located in the `rpm' directory and recursively below up to two
levels deeper (3 levels total):
$ ugrep -3 -l -tRpm '' rpm/
Monitor the system log for bug reports and ungroup multiple matches from matching lines into separate
lines:
$ tail -f /var/log/system.log | ugrep -u -i -w bug
Interactive fuzzy search with Boolean search queries:
$ ugrep -Q -l -% -Z2 --sort=best
Display all words in a MacRoman-encoded file that has CR newlines:
$ ugrep --encoding=MACROMAN '\w+' mac.txt
Display options related to "fuzzy" searching:
$ ugrep --help fuzzy
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2021-2025 Robert A. van Engelen <engelen@acm.org>
ugrep is released under the BSD-3 license. All parts of the software have reasonable copyright terms
permitting free redistribution. This includes the ability to reuse all or parts of the ugrep source
tree.
SEE ALSO
ugrep-indexer(1), grep(1), zgrep(1).
BUGS
Report bugs at: <https://github.com/Genivia/ugrep/issues>
ugrep 7.4.2 April 27, 2025 UGREP(1)