Windows Grep

A fast, grep-style file search utility for Windows.

Windows Grep mirrors the command style and behavior of Unix grep. There's no GUI to learn or shell to install - run it as a one-shot command in cmd/PowerShell, right-click a folder in File Explorer, or drop into its optional interactive shell.

Features

• Search contents, names, or hashes - match file text, file names (-k), or an exact SHA-256/MD5 hash (--hash)
• Search non-plaintext filetypes - extracts and searches text inside of all standard filetypes and extended filetypes (PDF, DOCX, XLSX, etc)
• Mass edit - find-and-replace or delete across thousands of files in a single command
• Rich filtering - by file type, path expression, size, recursion depth, and hidden/system attributes
• Interactive shell - optional REPL with built-in cd, ls, pwd, and clear
• Colored output, even in remote shells

Installation

Installer

1. Go to the Releases page.
2. Download and run the setup executable (x64 or arm64). This will:
   • Install Windows Grep
   • Add grep to the system PATH for command-line use
   • Add Windows Grep to the File Explorer context menu

Standalone

1. Go to the Releases page.
2. Download a pre-compiled binary and run it directly.

Build from source

Requires the Rust toolchain.

git clone https://github.com/sLill/Windows-Grep
cd Windows-Grep/WindowsGrep
cargo build --release
# Binary: target/release/grep.exe

Usage

grep [options] search_term [path]

The search_term is treated as a regular expression unless -F is used. path is optional and defaults to the current directory. Searches are non-recursive unless -r is supplied.

Launch from File Explorer → Right-Click → Windows Grep, or from cmd/PowerShell:

Examples

# Search the current directory for the term "error"
grep error .

# Recursive, case-insensitive search from C:\
grep -r -i error C:/

# Show 30 characters of context around each match
grep -c 30 TODO .

# Filter for .js and .ts filetypes only
grep -t .js,.ts useEffect C:/app

# Skip node_modules and .git directories
grep -P node_modules,.git useEffect C:/app 

# Match by file name instead of contents
grep -k "report.pdf" C:/Users

# Match a file by its exact SHA-256 hash
grep --hash=0 e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855 C:/

# Find and replace text across many files at once
grep --replace=newName oldName C:/app

# Delete every file that contains the term "dug" (use with care)
grep --delete dug C:/temp

Reference

Options

Flag	Description	Example
-h, --help	Show help (--help lists every option)	grep --help
-r	Search subdirectories recursively	grep -r dug C:/
-i	Ignore case	grep -i dug C:/
-c <n>	Print n characters of context around each match	grep -c 20 dug C:/
-F	Treat the search term as plain text (no regex)	grep -F "v1.2.0" .
-t <types>	Include only these file types (, or ; delimited)	grep -t .txt,.js dug C:/
-T <types>	Exclude these file types (, or ; delimited)	grep -T .png,.jpg dug C:/
-p <exprs>	Include only paths matching these expressions	grep -p AppData,Desktop dug C:/Users
-P <exprs>	Exclude paths matching these expressions	grep -P Windows,Users dug C:/
-k	Match file names instead of contents	grep -k "Log.*" C:/
-o <file>	Mirror output to a file	grep -o results.txt dug .
-v	Verbose — also list files that couldn't be read or modified	grep -v dug ../

Long options

Flag	Description	Example
--hidden	Include hidden files	grep --hidden dug C:/
--system	Include system files	grep --system dug C:/
--max-depth=<n>	Limit recursion depth (use with -r)	grep -r --max-depth=3 dug C:/
--filesize-min=<n>	Skip files smaller than n (kb/mb/gb/tb)	grep --filesize-min=30mb dug C:/
--filesize-max=<n>	Skip files larger than n (kb/mb/gb/tb)	grep --filesize-max=3gb dug C:/
--ignore-breaks	Allow matches to span line breaks	grep --ignore-breaks dug C:/
--hash=<algo>	Match by exact file hash — 0=SHA-256, 1=MD5	grep --hash=0 <hash> C:/
--replace=<text>	Replace matches in file contents (or rename files with -k)	grep --replace=dig dug C:/
--delete	Delete matched files	grep --delete dug C:/

License

MIT © Samuel Turner-Lill