grep(1)
Name
grep, egrep, fgrep − search file for regular expression
Syntax
grep [option...] expression [file...]
egrep [option...] [expression] [file...]
fgrep [option...] [strings] [file]
Description
Commands of the grep family search the input files (standard input default) for lines matching a pattern. Normally, each line found is copied to the standard output.
The grep command patterns are limited regular expressions in the style of ex(,), which uses a compact nondeterministic algorithm. The egrep command patterns are full regular expressions. The egrep command uses a fast deterministic algorithm that sometimes needs exponential space. The fgrep command patterns are fixed strings. The fgrep command is fast and compact.
In all cases the file name is shown if there is more than one input file. Take care when using the characters $ * [ ^ | ( ) and \ in the expression because they are also meaningful to the Shell. It is safest to enclose the entire expression argument in single quotes ´ ´.
The fgrep command searches for lines that contain one of the (new line-separated) strings.
The egrep command accepts extended regular expressions. In the following description ‘character’ excludes new line:
A \ followed by a single character other than new line matches that character.
The character ^ matches the beginning of a line.
The character $ matches the end of a line.
A . (dot) matches any character.
A single character not otherwise endowed with special meaning matches that character.
A string enclosed in brackets [] matches any single character from the string. Ranges of ASCII character codes may be abbreviated as in ‘a−z0−9’. A ] may occur only as the first character of the string. A literal − must be placed where it can’t be mistaken as a range indicator.
A regular expression followed by an * (asterisk) matches a sequence of 0 or more matches of the regular expression. A regular expression followed by a + (plus) matches a sequence of 1 or more matches of the regular expression. A regular expression followed by a ? (question mark) matches a sequence of 0 or 1 matches of the regular expression.
Two regular expressions concatenated match a match of the first followed by a match of the second.
Two regular expressions separated by | or new line match either a match for the first or a match for the second.
A regular expression enclosed in parentheses matches a match for the regular expression.
The order of precedence of operators at the same parenthesis level is the following: [], then *+?, then concatenation, then | and new line.
Options
−bPrecedes each output line with its block number. This is sometimes useful in locating disk block numbers by context.
−cProduces count of matching lines only.
−e expression
Uses next argument as expression that begins with a minus (−).
−f fileTakes regular expression (egrep) or string list (fgrep) from file.
−iConsiders upper and lowercase letter identical in making comparisons (grep and fgrep only).
−lLists files with matching lines only once, separated by a new line.
−nPrecedes each matching line with its line number.
−sSilent mode and nothing is printed (except error messages). This is useful for checking the error status (see DIAGNOSTICS).
−vDisplays all lines that do not match specified expression.
−wSearches for an expression as for a word (as if surrounded by ‘\<’ and ‘\>’). For further information, see ex(,), grep only.
−xPrints exact lines matched in their entirety (fgrep only).
Restrictions
Lines are limited to 256 characters; longer lines are truncated.
Diagnostics
Exit status is 0 if any matches are found, 1 if none, 2 for syntax errors or inaccessible files.