# Yetidevworks Ygrep Ygrep > IMPORTANT: Try ygrep First - Skill: `tomevault-io/yetidevworks-ygrep-ygrep` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/yetidevworks-ygrep-ygrep` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/yetidevworks-ygrep-ygrep/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/yetidevworks-ygrep-ygrep --- ## IMPORTANT: Try ygrep First Always try `ygrep "query"` via Bash **before** using built-in Grep, Glob, or Task explore agents for code searches. ygrep uses a pre-built full-text index and returns results in milliseconds vs seconds/minutes for built-in tools. If ygrep returns no results, fall back to built-in Grep or Glob — not every file may be indexed. ## When to Invoke This Skill Invoke this skill **immediately** when: - You need to find files, code, functions, classes, or variables - User asks to search or find something in the codebase - You need to understand where something is defined or used - You need to explore an unfamiliar codebase ## Usage All flags are global — they work in any position with or without the `search` subcommand: ```bash ygrep "search query" # Search (AI-optimized output) ygrep "query" -n 10 # Limit results ygrep "query" -e rs -e ts # Filter by extension ygrep "query" -p 'src/api/' # Filter by path prefix ygrep "query" -p 'src/*/tests/' # Glob pattern in path filter (quote it!) ygrep search "query" -p 'lib/' -n 5 # Explicit search subcommand ygrep "fn\\s+main" -r # Regex search ygrep "Config" -s # Case-sensitive search ygrep "error" -A 3 # 3 lines of context after match ygrep "error" -B 2 # 2 lines of context before match ygrep "error" -K 3 # 3 lines of context before and after ygrep "query" --json # JSON output with full metadata ygrep "query" --text-only # Force text-only search ``` **IMPORTANT**: Quote glob patterns in `-p` to prevent shell expansion: - Right: `-p 'user/plugins/*/tests/'` — ygrep receives the glob and matches internally - Wrong: `-p user/plugins/*/tests/` — shell expands into multiple args, causes errors ## Output Format Default output shows: `path:line (score%) [indicator]` - `+` = hybrid match (text AND semantic) - `~` = semantic only - No indicator = text match ## Tips - Uses **literal text matching** by default (like grep) — special characters work: `$variable`, `->get(`, `{% block` - **Subtoken matching**: camelCase and snake_case are split into subtokens — searching `send` also finds `sendCampaign`, `send_email`, etc. - **Multi-word queries**: `"campaign sending"` finds files where all terms appear (AND logic), not just exact phrases - The `|` pipe character is **literal**, not OR — use `-r` for regex OR: `ygrep "foo|bar" -r` - Use `-r` for regex patterns - Use `-s` for case-sensitive search (default is case-insensitive) - Use `-A`/`-B`/`-K` to control context lines around matches - Run `ygrep index` if workspace is not yet indexed - If ygrep returns no results, the file may not be indexed — fall back to Grep or Glob ## Keywords search, grep, find, code search, semantic search, local files, Grep, Glob, explore, locate, where is, definition --- > Source: [yetidevworks/ygrep](https://github.com/yetidevworks/ygrep) — distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io).