the_silver_searcher ☆
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Description:
Code-search similar to ack
Type: Formula  |  Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025
Links: Homepage  |  formulae.brew.sh
Category: Developer tools
Tags: search grep cli developer-tools code-search
Install: brew install the_silver_searcher
About:
The Silver Searcher is a command-line code-searching tool optimized for speed. It ignores version control system files and binary dependencies by default, providing results significantly faster than similar tools like ack or grep. Its primary value is rapid searching through large codebases.
Key Features:
  • Speed: Built for speed and optimized for searching large codebases.
  • Smart Defaults: Automatically ignores file types from .gitignore and similar.
  • Pattern Matching: Supports regular expressions similar to Perl-compatible regex.
  • Context Control: Provides options for showing lines before and after matches.
Use Cases:
  • Finding specific function definitions or variable usages across a project.
  • Searching for specific text patterns within log files or configuration directories.
Alternatives:
  • ack – Similar functionality but generally slower on large projects.
  • grep – Standard Unix utility; requires more flags to achieve similar ignore behavior.
  • ripgrep – Modern alternative often cited as even faster with more features.
Version History
Detected Version Rev Change Commit
Sep 12, 2025 12:52am 0 VERSION_BUMP b7301387
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