Ripgrep

Anatomy

File	Purpose	Target Size
SKILL.md	Search policy, availability check, quick reference	<100 lines
references/installation.md	Install and verify rg across platforms	<200 lines
references/usage.md	Search patterns, filtering, output, and diagnostics	<200 lines

Search Policy

Use the first applicable route:

1. Use an available, fresh code index for symbols, definitions, references, implementations, call paths, architecture, dependencies, dead code, or change impact. Examples: codebase-memory, language-server, IDE symbol, or repository index tools.
2. Use rg for exact text, regex, filenames, configuration values, logs, generated text, or when the index cannot answer the question.
3. If rg is unavailable, install it or report the blocker. Never fall back to grep.

For codebase-memory, prefer its one-shot CLI and verify index freshness before querying:

command -v codebase-memory-mcp && codebase-memory-mcp --version
codebase-memory-mcp cli index_status --project <project-name>

Availability

if command -v rg >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  rg --version
else
  printf '%s\n' 'ripgrep (rg) is not installed or is not on PATH.'
fi

See installation when the check fails.

Quick Reference

Need	Command
Search recursively	rg 'pattern' [path]
Search literal text	rg -F 'literal text' [path]
Ignore case / smart case	rg -i 'pattern' / rg -S 'pattern'
Match whole words	rg -w 'pattern'
Include / exclude globs	rg 'pattern' -g '*.cs' -g '!bin/**'
Include / exclude types	rg 'pattern' -tcs / rg 'pattern' -Tjson
List searchable files	rg --files [path]
List matching files only	rg -l 'pattern' [path]
Show context	rg -n -C 2 'pattern' [path]
Search hidden files	rg --hidden 'pattern'
Explain skipped files	rg --debug 'pattern' [path]
Show supported types	rg --type-list
Full command help	rg --help

Quote patterns and globs so the shell does not expand them. Ripgrep respects .gitignore, .ignore, and .rgignore and skips hidden and binary files by default.

Reference Files

File	Load When
references/installation.md	Checking availability; installing, upgrading, or verifying ripgrep
references/usage.md	Building searches; filtering paths; handling ignores, regex, output, or exit status