ripgrep

What it is and what it does

This package provides Python access to ripgrep, a Rust-based line search tool optimized for speed and code search workflows. It recursively searches directories for regex patterns while automatically respecting .gitignore rules and filtering hidden and binary files (behavior can be disabled with flags). ripgrep is designed as a faster alternative to grep, The Silver Searcher, and ack, with support for file-type filtering, Unicode, PCRE2 regex engines, and multiple text encodings.

The package wraps ripgrep for use from Python, making it available to developers who want to integrate fast pattern searching into Python applications or scripts. With no runtime dependencies and active maintenance, it targets modern Python versions (3.8+) across Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Use it for:

• Integrate fast code search into Python development tools or IDE plugins that need to find patterns across large codebases.
• Build log analysis or audit scripts that search through large text files while respecting project ignore rules.
• Create custom search utilities that need to filter by file type (e.g., search only Python or JavaScript files) with better performance than standard grep.
• Automate text processing workflows that require regex matching across directory trees while respecting version control ignore files.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Provides a Python interface to ripgrep (rg), a fast regex-based line search tool that recursively searches directories while respecting gitignore rules and filtering hidden and binary files by default.

Yes, if you need to integrate fast regex search into Python and are comfortable with the platform-specific wheel constraints. The package is actively maintained, has no runtime dependencies, uses permissive licensing, and wraps a well-established tool. Install friction is moderate due to platform-specific wheels; verify that your platform (macOS ARM64 or manylinux 2.39 x86_64) is supported or that you can build from source before committing.

Install

ripgrep on PyPI

pip install ripgrep

uv add ripgrep

poetry add ripgrep

Installing ripgrep

Before you install

Medium install friction due to platform-specific wheels (macOS ARM64, manylinux 2.39 x86_64). Active maintenance with recent release (82 days ago) and strong repository signals (67331 stars). No runtime dependencies.

License in practice

Dual-licensed under Unlicense or MIT (permissive). Either license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, making this safe for most projects.

Quickstart

pip install ripgrep

import ripgrep
# Use ripgrep's command-line interface via subprocess or the package's exposed API

Requires Python >=3.8. Platform-specific wheels available for macOS ARM64 and manylinux 2.39 x86_64; other platforms may require building from source.

Verify before relying

• What Python API does this package expose beyond wrapping the ripgrep binary—is it a thin CLI wrapper or does it provide programmatic search functions?
• Does the package bundle the ripgrep binary or require it to be installed separately on the system?
• What is the actual scope of the Python interface—can it be used for programmatic searches or only for invoking the command-line tool?

Package facts

Evidence: ripgrep-15.1.0-py3-none-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; ripgrep-15.1.0-py3-none-manylinux_2_39_x86_64.whl

Keywords: command-line-utilities, egrep, grep, pattern, regex, search, text-processing

Tags

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