repo-grep

Recursive code search in Emacs

When working across large projects or multiple repositories, staying inside Emacs for navigation and discovery keeps your workflow efficient and uninterrupted.

repo-grep runs a recursive grep through the folder structure of your Git repository, SVN working copy, or plain folder. It uses the symbol under the cursor as the default search term, which you can edit interactively. The search term can include a regular expression, and you can configure regex patterns as a prefix or suffix to further refine the search.

repo-grep-multi extends this to a recursive grep across multiple repositories or folders located in the same parent directory.

Why use repo-grep?

• Recursive search from the project root — Git, SVN, or any directory
• One-keystroke search using the symbol under the cursor
• Optional regex context and file-type filters
• Multi-repo search from a shared parent folder
• No setup or project configuration required

Dependencies

• Emacs ≥ 25.1
• grep (available on Unix-like systems)
• Optional: Git or SVN for root detection

Quickstart

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/BHFock/repo-grep.git ~/repo-grep

2. Add this to your Emacs configuration (~/.emacs or ~/.emacs.d/init.el)

(add-to-list 'load-path "~/repo-grep")
(autoload 'repo-grep "repo-grep")
(autoload 'repo-grep-multi "repo-grep")
(global-set-key [f12] 'repo-grep)
(global-set-key [C-f12] 'repo-grep-multi)

3. Open any file and start searching

• Place the cursor over a symbol (e.g., variable or function name)
• Press F12 to search the current repository
• Press Ctrl + F12 to search across sibling repositories
• Edit the suggested term or press Enter to accept
• Browse results in the clickable *grep* buffer

You can refine the search term with regular expressions for more precise results. For a more detailed guide on repo-grep’s features, see the repo-grep tutorial.

Advanced Usage & Customisation

Customise repo-grep to fit your workflow:

Case sensitivity

Toggle with M-x repo-grep-set-case-sensitivity or set directly:

(setq repo-grep-case-sensitive t)

Restrict to subfolder

Interactively with M-x repo-grep-set-subfolder or set directly:

(setq repo-grep-subfolder "src")

File type filters

Filter which files are searched by specifying extensions to include or exclude:

Use :exclude-ext to ignore certain file types (e.g., logs, backups). Use :include-ext to restrict search to specific file types (e.g., .f90).

Example usage (see the tutorial for more details):

(repo-grep :exclude-ext '(".log" "~"))
(repo-grep :include-ext '(".f90" ".F90"))

Binary file search

Binary files are skipped by default. You can change this via M-x repo-grep-set-ignore-binary or set:

(setq repo-grep-ignore-binary nil)

Context-aware search using regex

Narrow results by matching context around the search term:

(setq repo-grep-left-regex "CALL.*(")    ;; Fortran subroutine calls
(setq repo-grep-right-regex ".*=")       ;; assignment expressions

You can define custom keybindings to frequently used patterns or filters.

Development status

repo-grep is feature-complete for my needs. I don't plan to add new features or accept pull requests.

Feel free to use, fork, or adapt it as needed.

If you find repo-grep helpful, feel free to star the repository or recommend it to others who work with Emacs.