bash: Find text in files in subdirectories recursively

grep -rnw '/path/to/somewhere/' -e 'pattern'
  • -r or -R is recursive,
  • -n is line number, and
  • -w stands for match the whole word.
  • -l (lower-case L) can be added to just give the file name of matching files.

Along with these, --exclude--include--exclude-dir flags could be used for efficient searching.

Original Stack Overflow answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/16957078/1059672

By Aleksandar Jakovljević

My name is Aleksandar Jakovljević and I am a web developer from Belgrade, Serbia. I was born in Smederevo, in 1980. I started focusing on web development since late 2003. I am mostly focused on open source web technologies. I specialised in PHP, focusing on Symfony framework, with skills in Drupal and WordPress, too. I worked more than 7 years for art_net studio and 10 years for Computer Rock (former Spoiled Milk). Now I am working on developing industry leading subscription management system as a part of Plenigo team since August 2021. I love the web and everything related to it. The possibility to publish your ideas quickly and make them available to the entire world is what made me decide to pursue a career in web development.

Follow on: Twitter | GitHub | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

Hire me on Upwork

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.