rtk grep

Overview

Searches files using ripgrep (or grep fallback) with token-optimized output grouped by file. Automatically truncates long lines and limits results.

Syntax

rtk grep [OPTIONS] <PATTERN> [PATH]

Arguments

string

required

Search pattern (regex supported). BRE alternation \| auto-converted to PCRE |.

string

default:"."

Directory to search (recursive by default)

Options

number

default:"80"

Maximum line length in results. Long lines truncated with ... around match.

number

default:"50"

Maximum total results to show across all files.

flag

Show only 20 chars before/after match instead of full line.

string

Filter by file type: ts, py, rust, js, etc. (ripgrep type names)

flag

Show line numbers (always enabled, accepted for grep/rg compatibility)

Pass-through Arguments

Additional ripgrep flags supported via trailing args:

-i - Case-insensitive search
-w - Match whole words
-A N - Show N lines after match
-B N - Show N lines before match
--glob PATTERN - Include/exclude files by glob

Output Format

🔍 12 in 3F:

📄 src/main.rs (5):
   42: pub fn run_grep(pattern: &str) -> Result<()> {
   67:     let matches = grep_impl(pattern)?;
  ... +3 more

📄 src/lib.rs (4):
   12: // grep helper function
   23:     pattern.to_lowercase()
  ... +2 more

... +1 more file

Format breakdown:

Header: 🔍 12 in 3F (12 matches in 3 files)
Per-file section with match count
Line numbers auto-enabled
Shows first 10 matches per file
Truncates at --max total results

Token Savings

75% reduction - grouping by file and line truncation

rtk grep "TODO" src
# Find all TODO comments in src/

rtk grep -t ts "useState" .
# Search only TypeScript files

rtk grep -c "error" logs/
# Show only ±20 chars around "error"

rtk grep -i "fixme" . -A 2 --glob '*.rs'
# Case-insensitive, 2 lines after, Rust files only

rtk grep "fn foo\|pub.*bar" src
# Auto-converts BRE \| to PCRE |

Special Behaviors

BRE to PCRE Conversion

RTK auto-converts Basic Regular Expression alternation \| to Perl-Compatible | for ripgrep compatibility:

rtk grep "error\|warning"  # Works correctly

Recursive by Default

Unlike traditional grep, RTK searches recursively. The -r flag is ignored (ripgrep is always recursive).

Smart Truncation

Long lines are truncated intelligently:

Match is centered in output
...prefix...match...suffix... format
Respects --max-len character limit
Handles multibyte characters (emoji, Unicode) correctly

Exit Codes

0 - Matches found
1 - No matches found
2 - Error (bad regex, missing directory)

rtk read - View file contents
rtk find - Find files by name
rtk ls - List directory contents

Command Reference

Global Flags

Overview

Syntax

Arguments

Options

Pass-through Arguments

Output Format

Token Savings

Special Behaviors

BRE to PCRE Conversion

Recursive by Default

Smart Truncation

Exit Codes

​Overview

​Syntax

​Arguments

​Options

​Pass-through Arguments

​Output Format

​Token Savings

​Special Behaviors

​BRE to PCRE Conversion

​Recursive by Default

​Smart Truncation

​Exit Codes

​Related Commands

Overview

Syntax

Arguments

Options

Pass-through Arguments

Output Format

Token Savings

Special Behaviors

BRE to PCRE Conversion

Recursive by Default

Smart Truncation

Exit Codes

Related Commands