ripgrep (rg) is a line-oriented search tool that recursively searches your current directory for a regex pattern. It is widely considered the fastest search tool for developers, outperforming grep, ack, and the silver searcher (ag). In 2026, ripgrep remains an essential component of every power-user's terminal toolkit. It automatically respects your .gitignore rules and skips hidden files/directories by default, making it incredibly intuitive for searching large codebases. Its speed comes from a highly optimized Rust implementation and smart use of memory mapping. Whether you're searching for a specific function call or auditing logs, ripgrep provides near-instant results even on massive monorepos.
brew install ripgrep # macOS
sudo apt install ripgrep # Ubuntu
ripgrep uses advanced algorithms like Aho-Corasick and Teddy, combined with Rust's high-performance regex engine and parallel directory walking.
Yes, many modern editors like VS Code and Zed use ripgrep under the hood to power their 'Search in Files' functionality.
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