Grep Search

Provides a mechanism for searching with ripgrep

Technology

The grep module provides fast text search capabilities for Project Forge applications using the high-performance ripgrep command-line tool.

Overview

This module enables applications to perform blazing-fast text searches across files and directories by wrapping the ripgrep utility in a convenient Go API. It’s particularly useful for:

Code search: Finding functions, variables, or patterns across codebases
Log analysis: Searching through application logs and system files
Content discovery: Locating specific text within large document collections
Development tools: Building IDE-like search functionality

Key Features

Performance

Leverages ripgrep’s Rust-based regex engine for maximum speed
Handles large codebases and file collections efficiently
Supports recursive directory traversal with smart filtering

Search Capabilities

Regular expression support with multiple regex engines
Case-sensitive and case-insensitive searching
File type filtering and glob pattern matching
Configurable context lines around matches

Integration

Simple Go API for executing searches programmatically
Structured result format with file paths, line numbers, and match context
JSON output parsing for consistent data handling

Package Structure

Core Library

lib/grep/ - Main search functionality
- request.go - Search request configuration and parameters
- response.go - Structured response types and result parsing
- run.go - Search execution and ripgrep command interface

API Overview

Basic Usage

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
import "github.com/yourproject/app/lib/grep"

// Create a search request
req := &grep.Request{
    Query:     "func.*Handler",
    Directory: "./app",
    CaseSensitive: false,
}

// Execute the search
response, err := grep.Run(req)
if err != nil {
    return err
}

// Process results
for _, match := range response.Matches {
    fmt.Printf("%s:%d: %s\n", match.File, match.LineNumber, match.Line)
}

Search Configuration

The module supports extensive search customization:

Query patterns: Regular expressions and literal text
Directory targeting: Specific paths or recursive searches
File filtering: Include/exclude patterns for file types
Context control: Number of lines before/after matches
Output options: Various formatting and display preferences

Requirements

System Dependencies

ripgrep: Must be installed and available in the system PATH
- macOS: brew install ripgrep
- Ubuntu/Debian: apt install ripgrep
- Windows: Download from releases page

Runtime Dependencies

Go standard library only (no external Go dependencies)
Works with any ripgrep version that supports JSON output

Source Code

Repository: https://github.com/kyleu/projectforge/tree/main/module/grep
License: CC0 (Public Domain)
Author: Kyle U (kyle@kyleu.com)