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Use rg (ripgrep) for interactive, recursive searches in a project when you control the environment and want sensible project-aware filtering. Use grep when a shell script must work on Unix systems without requiring users to install an extra command. Before trusting a search that returns no matches, account for ripgrep’s default exclusions: it skips hidden paths, ignored paths and binary files.
What is the practical difference?
The main difference is what each command does for you by default. Ripgrep searches the current directory recursively and applies filtering intended for project trees. GNU grep is the familiar standard utility to favor when portability and avoiding extra dependencies matter.
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For a quick project search, run:
rg 'TODO'To ask GNU grep to search a chosen directory recursively, run:
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grep -R 'TODO' .These commands illustrate similar tasks, but they are not exact behavioral equivalents: their path filtering and handling of files differ.
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Which should you use for your task?
| Need | Better default | Reason and caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Search a project tree recursively | rg PATTERN |
Ripgrep recurses from the current directory and respects project filtering by default. |
| Include hidden files or ignored build output | rg --hidden --no-ignore PATTERN |
These options broaden the search beyond normal filtering, which can add noise and work. |
| Write a script for Unix hosts where you cannot install dependencies | grep |
The ripgrep FAQ identifies standard grep as the portable, dependency-free choice. |
| Use look-around or backreferences in a ripgrep search | rg -P PATTERN |
This selects PCRE2, but requires a PCRE2-enabled ripgrep build. |
| Search one very large file | Benchmark both on the actual file and pattern | One project benchmark favored ripgrep, but a single workload does not predict all systems or queries. |
Why can ripgrep return no matches?
Ripgrep’s project-friendly defaults can omit paths you meant to search. It normally respects ignore rules, skips hidden paths, and avoids searching binary files. Ignore-file precedence includes .gitignore, .ignore and .rgignore; consult the ripgrep guide for the details.
To include hidden paths and stop honoring ignore files:
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rg --hidden --no-ignore 'TODO'Ripgrep also offers -u flags to progressively relax filtering. Choose the narrowest option that fits: broad searches may traverse generated files, dependencies or other material you did not intend to include. If results still seem absent, check that the pattern matches the file contents and that the relevant paths are within the directory being searched.
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Is ripgrep faster than grep?
It can be, but speed depends on the file, pattern, options and environment. In one comparison in the ripgrep project README, a Unicode search over an approximately 13 GB decompressed corpus returned 485 matching lines in 1.053 seconds with ripgrep and 6.234 seconds with GNU grep. Those are results for that project benchmark’s particular commands and setup; its opened passage gives no publication year, and the result is not a general speed guarantee.
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For a file or workload that matters to you, compare the actual commands on the same data and check that both return the matches you need. Do not infer a universal winner from one corpus.
Are ripgrep and grep regular expressions interchangeable?
Do not assume so for nontrivial patterns. Ripgrep uses Rust’s regex engine by default. Its optional PCRE2 engine, selected with -P, provides features including look-around and backreferences, but may be unavailable in a particular build. The ripgrep FAQ and ripgrep guide describe the project’s behavior; verify the exact pattern and installed build before relying on a feature. For GNU grep’s own supported syntax, consult the GNU grep manual.
Can ripgrep replace grep completely?
No single recommendation fits every environment. For interactive work in a project you control, ripgrep is often the more convenient default because it recurses automatically and filters common project noise. For portable shell scripts that must run without extra dependencies, use the standard grep available on the target systems. The ripgrep FAQ puts it this way: “For portable shell scripts that must run everywhere without extra dependencies, standard grep remains the right choice.”
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