vim-bettergrep

A better way to grep in vim.

The purpose of this plugin is to provide a lightweight and enhanced version of the original :grep family of Vim commands.

This plugin implements RomainL's Instant grep + quickfix with a few of my own additions.

• Abbreviates :grep with :Grep, as well as the rest: :lgrep, :grepadd, lgrepadd
• In general faster than regular :grep
• Autoconfigures the grep program based on what you have in your PATH in the following order:
  • Whatever g:bettergrepprg is set to.
  • ripgrep
  • ag (The Silver Seacher)
  • ack
  • Whatever grepprg is set to.
• Asynchronous grepping.
• <C-g> in normal mode mapping to :Grep in command mode.

Installation

With vim-plug:

Plug 'qalshidi/vim-bettergrep'

Usage

Either type :grep or press <C-g> and start searching your files :).

Configuration

Don't map my CTRL-G!

let g:bettergrep_no_mappings = 1

I want to use some_grepper!

let g:bettergrepprg = "<some_grepper>"

I want to use git grep!

let g:bettergrepprg = "git grep --column -n"
" or using tpope/vim-fugitive plugin's :Ggrep

I want to use git grep when my current directory is a git repository!

autocmd VimEnter * if isdirectory('./.git') | let g:bettergrepprg = 'git grep -n --column' | endif
if exists('##DirChanged')
  autocmd DirChanged * if isdirectory('./.git') | let g:bettergrepprg = 'git grep -n --column' | endif
endif

Don't abbreviate my :grep!

let g:bettergrep_no_abbrev = 1

It is not ignoring my hidden files/.gitignore files!

• Use ripgrep

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I grep a pattern with spaces?

• Try enclosing your pattern in single quotes like this:

:Grep 'my pattern' my/file/path

How is this different from vim-grepper?

• vim-bettergrep is a lightweight enhancement to :grep and tries to imitate the original Vim commands. To me, it seems vim-grepper is beefier and its own beast, allowing multiple grep commands and loading everything at start up as opposed to using Vim's autoload feature. They both have their own use cases. I am happy with original Vim's grep and don't necessarily need more than that.

How is this different from ack.vim?

• bettergrep is mostly like ack.vim with a bit more opinionated defaults, quickfix window mappings that are more like NERDTree mappings. Asynchronous execution baked in by default. bettergrep also is more agnostic than ack.vim albeit ack.vim is still configurable, so the command functions are :Grep instead of :Ack.