Identity

Property	Value
Binary	`rg`
Config	`~/.ripgreprc` (set via `RIPGREP_CONFIG_PATH`)
Logs	No persistent logs — output to terminal
Type	CLI tool
Install	`apt install ripgrep` / `dnf install ripgrep`

Key Operations

Task	Command
Basic search	`rg 'pattern' /path/`
Case-insensitive	`rg -i 'pattern' /path/`
Fixed string (no regex)	`rg -F 'literal.string' /path/`
Count matches per file	`rg -c 'pattern' /path/`
List only filenames with matches	`rg -l 'pattern' /path/`
Show N lines of context	`rg -C 3 'pattern' /path/`
Lines after match	`rg -A 2 'pattern' /path/`
Lines before match	`rg -B 2 'pattern' /path/`
Filter by file type	`rg -t py 'pattern'`
Filter by glob pattern	`rg -g '*.yaml' 'pattern'`
Exclude a path	`rg --iglob '!.git' 'pattern'`
Search hidden files	`rg -. 'pattern'`
Search ignored files too	`rg -u 'pattern'`
Search hidden + ignored	`rg -uu 'pattern'`
Multiline match	`rg -U 'start.*\nend' /path/`
Replace in output (not in file)	`rg -r 'replacement' 'pattern' /path/`
JSON output	`rg --json 'pattern' /path/`
Print stats summary	`rg --stats 'pattern' /path/`
PCRE2 regex (lookaheads etc.)	`rg -P '(?<=prefix)pattern' /path/`

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Expected files not in results	`.gitignore` is hiding them	Use `-u` to search ignored files, `-uu` for hidden+ignored
`-t mytype` gives "unrecognized type"	Custom extension not in rg's built-in type list	Use `-g '*.ext'` instead, or define a type with `--type-add`
Colors break piped output	ANSI codes injected into pipe	Add `--color never` when piping to other commands
Lookahead/lookbehind fails	Default regex engine (Rust) doesn't support them	Add `-P` for PCRE2 mode
`rg: command not found`	Package name differs from binary name	Binary is `rg`, package is `ripgrep`: `apt install ripgrep`
Multiline pattern matches nothing	Default mode is line-by-line	Add `-U` to enable multiline mode
Output includes binary file noise	Binary files partially matched	Add `--no-binary` to skip binary files entirely

.gitignore respect by default: rg silently skips files listed in .gitignore, .ignore, and global gitignore. For a full filesystem search outside a repo, or when searching build artifacts, add -u (skip ignore rules) or -uu (skip ignore + hidden).
File type names are predefined: -t py works because rg ships a built-in type list. To see all types, run rg --type-list. Extensions not in the list require -g '*.ext' instead.
Colorized output breaks pipes: Piped output still contains ANSI escape codes by default. Add --color never (or --color always if color is needed downstream and the consumer supports it).
rg, not ripgrep: The binary is rg. The package is ripgrep. Muscle memory from typing the full name will produce a "command not found" error.
Rust regex engine has no lookaheads: The default engine is fast but limited. Add -P to switch to PCRE2 when you need lookaheads, lookbehinds, or backreferences. PCRE2 may not be compiled in on all distros — check with rg --pcre2-version.