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The grep command

Searches a pattern inside files and shows only the matching lines.

Syntax

grep [opciones] <patrón> [archivo]

Most useful options

-iIgnores upper and lower case
-vShows the lines that do NOT match
-nNumbers the lines
-rSearches inside every file of a folder

Copy-ready examples

$ grep mkdir Documentos/tareas.txtSearch in a file
$ grep -i bash Documentos/apuntes.txtCase-insensitive
$ grep -rn bash .In the whole folder, with numbers

You can try them in the browser terminal: it does not touch your computer.

Typical mistakes

  • By default it is case-sensitive.

Related commands

findwcsed

FAQ

Does grep search files or text?

It searches text inside files. To find files by name you use find.

How do I count the matches?

Pipe it to wc -l: grep -r word . | wc -l.

Learn to actually use it

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