A high-performance line-oriented search tool written in Go — a pure Go port of ripgrep. It provides both a CLI tool (rg) compatible with ripgrep's interface and a Go SDK for programmatic use.
- Fast recursive search — multi-threaded file walking and searching using goroutines
- Regex & fixed-string matching — full Go
regexpsupport plus literal string search (-F) - Ignore file support — respects
.gitignore,.ignore, and.rgignorewith nested directory support - Glob filtering — include/exclude files using
-g/--globpatterns with negation support - Context lines — show lines before/after matches (
-A,-B,-C) - Color output — ANSI color highlighting for matches, filenames, and line numbers
- JSON output — newline-delimited JSON (NDJSON) format (
--json) compatible with ripgrep's JSON spec - Stdin support — pipe input from other commands
- Cross-platform — builds for Linux (amd64, arm64, loong64), macOS (amd64, arm64), and Windows (amd64, arm64)
- NPM packages — distributable via npm for Node.js integration
- Pure Go SDK — embed search functionality in your Go applications
git clone https://github.com/startvibecoding/go-ripgrep.git
cd go-ripgrep
make build
# Binary will be at ./bin/rggo install github.com/startvibecoding/go-ripgrep/cmd/rg@latestgo get github.com/startvibecoding/go-ripgrepnpm install go-ripgrep
# Binary available at node_modules/.bin/rgDownload from GitHub Releases for your platform.
rg [OPTIONS] PATTERN [PATH...]
rg [OPTIONS] -F PATTERN [PATH...]
cat file | rg [OPTIONS] PATTERN
# Search for a pattern recursively
rg "hello" ./src
# Case-insensitive search
rg -i "error" /var/log
# Fixed string search (no regex)
rg -F "function(" ./src
# Show context lines
rg -C 3 "TODO" .
# Search only specific file types
rg -g "*.go" "func main" .
# Exclude file patterns
rg -g "!*.min.js" "function" ./dist
# JSON output
rg --json "pattern" .
# Pipe from stdin
cat README.md | rg "install"
# Word boundary match
rg -w "test" .
# Limit matches per file
rg -m 5 "error" /var/log
# Show column numbers
rg --column "TODO" .
# Follow symlinks
rg -L "pattern" ./links
# Search hidden files
rg --hidden "secret" .
# Ignore .gitignore rules
rg --no-ignore "node_modules" .Use the root package as goriggrep:
package main
import (
"context"
"fmt"
goriggrep "github.com/startvibecoding/go-ripgrep"
)
func main() {
ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
defer cancel()
results, err := goriggrep.Search(ctx, []string{"./src"}, goriggrep.Options{
Pattern: "TODO",
CaseInsensitive: true,
Globs: []string{"*.go", "!vendor/**"},
BeforeContext: 1,
AfterContext: 1,
MaxCount: 10,
Threads: 4,
})
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
for res := range results {
fmt.Printf("%s: %d matches\n", res.Path, res.Stats.Matches)
for _, m := range res.Matches {
if m.IsContext {
fmt.Printf(" %d-%s\n", m.LineNum, m.Line)
continue
}
fmt.Printf(" %d:%s\n", m.LineNum, m.Line)
}
}
}Search returns a streaming <-chan printer.FileResult>. Each result includes:
Path: the matched file or archive entry pathMatches: matched lines and context linesStats: searched line count and match countElapsed: time spent searching that file
Common SDK options:
Pattern,IsFixed,CaseInsensitive,WordRegexp,InvertMatchGlobs,Types,TypesNot,NoIgnore,Hidden,FollowSymlinksBeforeContext,AfterContext,MaxCountSearchZipfor.zip,.gz,.bz2SortByandSortReverseThreadsto control worker count
Use context.Context cancellation to stop a search early. For the full SDK surface, see docs/sdk-reference.md.
| Flag | Short | Description |
|---|---|---|
--ignore-case |
-i |
Case-insensitive search |
--case-sensitive |
-s |
Force case-sensitive search (overrides -i) |
--word-regexp |
-w |
Match whole words only |
--fixed-strings |
-F |
Treat pattern as a literal string |
--invert-match |
-v |
Select non-matching lines |
--glob GLOB |
-g |
Include/exclude files by glob pattern |
--after-context NUM |
-A |
Show NUM lines after each match |
--before-context NUM |
-B |
Show NUM lines before each match |
--context NUM |
-C |
Show NUM lines before and after each match |
--max-count NUM |
-m |
Limit matches per file |
--threads NUM |
-j |
Number of worker threads |
--hidden |
Search hidden files and directories | |
--no-ignore |
Don't respect ignore files | |
--follow |
-L |
Follow symbolic links |
--max-depth NUM |
Maximum directory depth | |
--json |
Output newline-delimited JSON | |
--color WHEN |
Color output: always, never, auto |
|
--heading |
Group matches under file headings | |
--no-heading |
Don't print file headings | |
--line-number |
-n |
Show line numbers (default: on) |
--no-line-number |
-N |
Suppress line numbers |
--with-filename |
-H |
Print file path for each match |
--no-filename |
-I |
Suppress file path |
--column |
Show column number of first match | |
--help |
-h |
Print help message |
--version |
-V |
Print version |
go-ripgrep/
├── cmd/rg/ # CLI entry point
│ └── main.go # Argument parsing, search orchestration, output
├── pkg/
│ ├── matcher/ # Pattern matching engine
│ │ ├── matcher.go # RegexMatcher, FixedMatcher, BuildMatcher
│ │ └── matcher_test.go
│ ├── searcher/ # File reading & line-by-line search
│ │ ├── searcher.go # Searcher with context support
│ │ └── searcher_test.go
│ ├── printer/ # Output formatting
│ │ ├── printer.go # CLI text & NDJSON output
│ │ └── printer_test.go
│ ├── globset/ # Glob pattern compilation & matching
│ │ ├── globset.go # GlobToRegex, GlobSet, MatchGlobFilter
│ │ └── globset_test.go
│ └── ignore/ # Ignore file parsing & stack management
│ ├── ignore.go # .gitignore, .ignore, .rgignore support
│ └── ignore_test.go
├── sdk.go # Public Go SDK (Search, Options)
├── sdk_test.go # SDK unit tests
├── tests/
│ └── integration_test.go # End-to-end CLI tests
├── npm/ # NPM package distribution
├── scripts/ # Build & packaging scripts
└── Makefile # Build system
┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐
│ CLI / SDK │────▶│ Walker │────▶│ Searcher │
│ (options) │ │ (dirs/files)│ │ (per file) │
└──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘
│ │
┌─────▼─────┐ ┌─────▼─────┐
│ Ignore │ │ Matcher │
│ Stack │ │ (regex/ │
│(.gitignore│ │ fixed) │
│ .ignore) │ └───────────┘
└───────────┘
- CLI parses arguments and creates
Options - Walker recursively traverses directories, consulting the Ignore Stack to respect
.gitignorerules - Files are sent to worker goroutines via a channel
- Searcher reads each file line-by-line, using Matcher to find matches
- Results flow back through a channel to Printer for formatted output
# Current platform
make build
# All platforms
make build-all
# Specific platforms
make build-linux
make build-darwin
make build-windows
# Static binary (musl)
make build-linux-musl
# Run tests
make test
# Format code
make fmt
# Clean build artifacts
make clean# Sync version across npm packages
make npm-version
# Build platform-specific npm packages
make npm-packages
# Pack all npm packages
make npm-pack
# Publish all npm packages
make npm-publish-all| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
0 |
Matches found |
1 |
No matches found |
2 |
Error (invalid arguments, pattern error, etc.) |
| Feature | ripgrep (Rust) | go-ripgrep (Go) |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Rust | Go |
| Regex engine | Rust regex crate |
Go regexp stdlib |
| SIMD optimization | Yes | Go 1.27 standard-library byte search |
| PCRE2 support | Yes | No |
| .gitignore support | Yes | Yes |
| JSON output | Yes | Yes |
| Go SDK | No | Yes |
| npm distribution | Via community | Built-in |
| Cross-compilation | Rust toolchain | GOOS/GOARCH |
Note: This project aims for CLI compatibility with ripgrep but may differ in performance and edge-case behavior. For maximum performance on large codebases, consider using the original ripgrep.
- Fork the repository
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature) - Commit your changes (
git commit -m 'Add amazing feature') - Push to the branch (
git push origin feature/amazing-feature) - Open a Pull Request
This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.
- ripgrep by Andrew Gallant — the original implementation in Rust
- Go standard library —
regexp,filepath,ospackages