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Day 65: new resources are added every day. See what's new
Best Productivity ResourcesBy Shushant LakhyaniVerified creator

Desktop App

ripgrep

A very fast command-line search tool for finding text across your files.

Visit ripgrep4.8

  • Rating

    4.8 / 5

  • Pricing

    Free

  • Difficulty

    Intermediate

  • Works on

    macOS, Windows, Linux

Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com

Free: 1,100+ ways people make money onlineFree: 399+ ways to make money online

What is ripgrep?

ripgrep is a free, open-source command-line tool that searches folders for any word or pattern in a fraction of the time older tools take. It skips hidden and ignored files by default and works on huge projects, so you can find that one line of code or note in seconds.

Third-party open-source projects. We are not affiliated with their authors; repositories are provided as-is by their maintainers. Review each project's license, code and security before installing. See our Disclaimer.

Pros: what ripgrep does well

  • Searches large folders in seconds
  • Respects .gitignore out of the box
  • Free and open source

Cons: where it falls short

  • Command line only
  • Patterns use regex syntax

Who ripgrep is for

Anyone who often hunts for text across lots of files.

Who can skip it

People who never use the command line.

ripgrep alternatives

Not sold on ripgrep? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.

All File Management resources

fzf

Focus: fuzzy finder and shell. Shares command line and open source with ripgrep. Same 4.8 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit

Pandoc

Focus: document converter and markdown. Shares command line and open source with ripgrep. Same 4.8 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit

zoxide

Focus: terminal, navigation and shell. Shares command line and open source with ripgrep. Rated 4.7 (ripgrep: 4.8).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit

scrcpy

Focus: android, screen mirroring and phone control. Shares open source and github with ripgrep. Adds Android. Rated 4.7 (ripgrep: 4.8).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.7Visit

Qalculate!

Focus: calculator, unit conversion and maths. Shares open source and github with ripgrep. Rated 4.6 (ripgrep: 4.8).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, Linux
4.6Visit

PDF Arranger

Focus: pdf editor, merge pdf and split pdf. Shares open source and github with ripgrep. Rated 4.5 (ripgrep: 4.8).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, Linux
4.5Visit

Free alternatives to ripgrep

Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.

lazygit

Focus: git client and terminal ui. Shares developer tool and open source with ripgrep. Same 4.8 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit

Atuin

Focus: shell history, terminal and sync. Shares command line and open source with ripgrep. Rated 4.7 (ripgrep: 4.8).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit

BentoPDF

Focus: pdf tools, merge pdf and privacy. Shares open source and github with ripgrep. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.7 (ripgrep: 4.8).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.7Visit

croc

Focus: file transfer and encryption. Shares command line and open source with ripgrep. Rated 4.7 (ripgrep: 4.8).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit

OCRmyPDF

Focus: ocr and scanned pdf. Shares command line and open source with ripgrep. Rated 4.7 (ripgrep: 4.8).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit

Paperless-ngx

Focus: documents, ocr and self-hosted. Shares open source and github with ripgrep. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.7 (ripgrep: 4.8).

Web AppFreeWeb, Linux
4.7Visit
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