GrepTool¶

A pure Java implementation of grep functionality that doesn't require external ripgrep installation. Provides powerful search capabilities with regex patterns, glob filtering, and multiple output modes.

Features: - Full Java regex support for pattern matching - File type filtering (java, js, ts, py, rust, go, etc.) - Glob pattern matching (*.java, **/*.tsx) - Multiple output modes: files_with_matches, count, content - Context lines (before/after matching lines) - Case-insensitive search - Multiline pattern matching - Configurable limits and depth - No external dependencies required - Thread-safe for concurrent use

Overview¶

The GrepTool is a Spring AI tool that brings powerful code search capabilities to AI agents. Unlike traditional grep that requires external tools, this is a pure Java implementation that works cross-platform without any setup.

Why use GrepTool? - Zero dependencies: No need to install ripgrep or grep - AI-optimized: Designed for agents to search codebases efficiently - Flexible filtering: Combine regex, globs, and file types - Smart output: Three modes optimized for different use cases

Basic Usage¶

// Default configuration
GrepTool grepTool = GrepTool.builder().build();

// Search for pattern in current directory
String result = grepTool.grep(
    "TODO",              // pattern
    null,                // path (uses current directory)
    null,                // glob
    OutputMode.files_with_matches,  // outputMode
    null, null, null,    // context lines (before, after, surrounding)
    null,                // showLineNumbers
    null,                // caseInsensitive
    null,                // type
    null, null, null     // headLimit, offset, multiline
);

Custom Configuration¶

For large codebases or specific requirements, configure limits:

GrepTool customGrepTool = new GrepTool(
    200000,  // maxOutputLength - Maximum output before truncation (default: 100000)
    50,      // maxDepth - Directory traversal depth (default: 100)
    5000     // maxLineLength - Max line length to process (default: 10000)
);

Configuration Parameters¶

Parameter	Default	Description
`maxOutputLength`	100,000	Maximum output length before truncation
`maxDepth`	100	Maximum directory traversal depth (prevents infinite recursion)
`maxLineLength`	10,000	Maximum line length to process (longer lines are skipped)

When to adjust: - maxOutputLength: Increase for large search results (e.g., 200,000 for monorepos) - maxDepth: Decrease for shallow searches (e.g., 10 for root-level only) - maxLineLength: Increase for minified code or long lines (e.g., 50,000)

Method Parameters¶

The grep method signature:

String grep(
    String pattern,          // Required: Regex pattern to search
    String path,             // Optional: Directory/file to search (default: current dir)
    String glob,             // Optional: Glob pattern to filter files (e.g., "*.java")
    OutputMode outputMode,   // Optional: Output format (default: files_with_matches)
    Integer linesBefore,     // Optional: Context lines before match (-B)
    Integer linesAfter,      // Optional: Context lines after match (-A)
    Integer linesSurrounding,// Optional: Context lines before+after (-C)
    Boolean showLineNumbers, // Optional: Show line numbers in content mode (-n)
    Boolean caseInsensitive, // Optional: Case-insensitive search (-i)
    String type,             // Optional: File type filter (e.g., "java", "js")
    Integer headLimit,       // Optional: Limit output lines/entries
    Integer offset,          // Optional: Skip first N lines/entries
    Boolean multiline        // Optional: Enable multiline matching
)

Output Modes¶

1. files_with_matches (Default)¶

Returns only file paths containing matches. Most efficient for finding files.

Usage:

String result = grepTool.grep(
    "class UserService",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.files_with_matches,
    null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null
);

Output:

./src/main/java/com/example/UserService.java
./src/test/java/com/example/UserServiceTest.java

Use when: - Finding which files contain a pattern - Locating specific classes or functions - Quick file discovery

2. count¶

Shows the number of matches per file.

Usage:

String result = grepTool.grep(
    "TODO",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.count,
    null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null
);

Output:

./src/main/java/Controller.java: 5
./src/main/java/Service.java: 12
./src/main/java/Repository.java: 3

Use when: - Counting occurrences (TODOs, FIXMEs, deprecations) - Analyzing code patterns across files - Finding files with most matches

3. content¶

Shows matching lines with optional context and line numbers.

Usage:

String result = grepTool.grep(
    "public class.*",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.content,
    null, null, null,
    true,                // Show line numbers
    null, null, null, null, null
);

Output:

./src/main/java/UserService.java:
   15→public class UserService {

./src/main/java/OrderService.java:
   23→public class OrderService extends BaseService {

Use when: - Examining actual matching code - Understanding context around matches - Code review or analysis

Context Lines¶

Show surrounding lines for better context (similar to grep's -A, -B, -C options).

Lines After Match (-A)¶

String result = grepTool.grep(
    "@Override",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.content,
    null,                // linesBefore
    3,                   // linesAfter - show 3 lines after
    null,                // linesSurrounding
    true,                // showLineNumbers
    null, null, null, null, null
);

Output:

./src/Service.java:
   42→    @Override
   43→    public void process() {
   44→        // Implementation
   45→    }

Lines Before Match (-B)¶

String result = grepTool.grep(
    "throw new.*Exception",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.content,
    2,                   // linesBefore - show 2 lines before
    null,                // linesAfter
    null,                // linesSurrounding
    true,                // showLineNumbers
    null, null, null, null, null
);

Output:

./src/Service.java:
   38→    if (user == null) {
   39→        logger.error("User not found");
   40→        throw new UserNotFoundException("User not found");

Lines Surrounding Match (-C)¶

String result = grepTool.grep(
    "TODO",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.content,
    null, null,
    2,                   // linesSurrounding - 2 lines before AND after
    true,                // showLineNumbers
    null, null, null, null, null
);

Output:

./src/Service.java:
   15→    public void process() {
   16→        // Process data
   17→        // TODO: Add validation
   18→        save(data);
   19→    }

Priority: If multiple context options are provided, linesSurrounding takes precedence.

File Filtering¶

By File Type¶

Filter by programming language or file type:

// Search only Java files
String result = grepTool.grep(
    "interface.*Repository",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.files_with_matches,
    null, null, null, null, null,
    "java",              // type filter
    null, null, null
);

// Search only TypeScript files
String result = grepTool.grep(
    "export.*Component",
    "./src",
    null, null, null, null, null, null, null,
    "ts",                // type filter
    null, null, null
);

Supported file types: - java - .java files - js - .js files - ts - .ts, .tsx files - py - .py files - rust - .rs files - go - .go files - cpp - .cpp, .cc, .cxx, .h, .hpp files - xml - .xml files - json - .json files - yaml - .yml, .yaml files - md - .md, .markdown files - txt - .txt files

By Glob Pattern¶

Use glob patterns for custom file filtering:

// Search only React components
String result = grepTool.grep(
    "useState",
    "./src",
    "**/*.tsx",          // glob pattern
    OutputMode.files_with_matches,
    null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null
);

// Search only test files
String result = grepTool.grep(
    "@Test",
    "./src",
    "**/*Test.java",     // glob pattern
    OutputMode.content,
    null, null, null, true, null, null, null, null, null
);

// Search multiple extensions
String result = grepTool.grep(
    "API_KEY",
    ".",
    "**/*.{java,properties,yml}",  // multiple extensions
    OutputMode.files_with_matches,
    null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null
);

Glob patterns: - *.java - All .java files in directory - **/*.java - All .java files recursively - src/**/*.test.js - All .test.js files under src - **/*.{ts,tsx} - All .ts and .tsx files - **/test-*.java - Files starting with "test-"

Combining Type and Glob¶

// Type filter takes precedence over glob
String result = grepTool.grep(
    "pattern",
    "./src",
    "**/*.txt",          // glob
    OutputMode.files_with_matches,
    null, null, null, null, null,
    "java",              // type overrides glob
    null, null, null
);
// Only searches .java files (glob is ignored)

Best practice: Use type for standard languages, glob for custom patterns.

Pattern Matching¶

Basic Regex Patterns¶

// Literal string
grepTool.grep("UserService", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

// Word boundary
grepTool.grep("\\bclass\\b", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

// Alternation
grepTool.grep("Error|Exception|Throwable", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

// Character class
grepTool.grep("[A-Z][a-z]+Service", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

// Quantifiers
grepTool.grep("TODO.*urgent", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

Common Search Patterns¶

Find class definitions:

grepTool.grep("^public class \\w+", "./src", null, OutputMode.content, null, null, null, true, null, "java", null, null, null);

Find method definitions:

grepTool.grep("^\\s+public \\w+ \\w+\\(", "./src", null, OutputMode.content, null, null, null, true, null, "java", null, null, null);

Find TODO comments:

grepTool.grep("//\\s*TODO", "./src", null, OutputMode.count, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

Find imports:

grepTool.grep("^import .*springframework", "./src", null, OutputMode.files_with_matches, null, null, null, null, null, "java", null, null, null);

Find API endpoints:

grepTool.grep("@(Get|Post|Put|Delete)Mapping", "./src", null, OutputMode.content, null, 2, null, true, null, "java", null, null, null);

Find hardcoded credentials (security audit):

grepTool.grep("password\\s*=\\s*[\"']\\w+[\"']", ".", null, OutputMode.content, 1, 1, null, true, true, null, null, null, null);

Case-Insensitive Search¶

String result = grepTool.grep(
    "todo",              // lowercase pattern
    "./src",
    null, null, null, null, null, null,
    true,                // caseInsensitive = true
    null, null, null, null
);
// Matches: TODO, Todo, todo, tOdO, etc.

Multiline Patterns¶

For patterns that span multiple lines:

String result = grepTool.grep(
    "class.*\\{[\\s\\S]*?private",  // Match class with private field
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.content,
    null, null, null, true, null, "java",
    null, null,
    true                 // multiline = true (. matches newlines)
);

Note: Multiline mode allows . to match newline characters.

Limiting Results¶

Head Limit¶

Limit the number of output lines or entries:

// Limit to first 10 matching files
String result = grepTool.grep(
    "TODO",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.files_with_matches,
    null, null, null, null, null, null,
    10,                  // headLimit
    null, null
);

// Limit to first 20 matching lines
String result = grepTool.grep(
    "public.*method",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.content,
    null, null, null, true, null, null,
    20,                  // headLimit
    null, null
);

Offset¶

Skip first N results:

// Skip first 10 files, then show next 10
String result = grepTool.grep(
    "class",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.files_with_matches,
    null, null, null, null, null, null,
    10,                  // headLimit (show 10)
    10,                  // offset (skip first 10)
    null
);

Use case: Pagination through large result sets.

Common Use Cases¶

1. Find All TODOs¶

GrepTool grepTool = GrepTool.builder().build();

// Count TODOs per file
String counts = grepTool.grep(
    "TODO|FIXME",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.count,
    null, null, null, null,
    true,                // case insensitive
    null, null, null, null
);

// Show TODO comments with context
String todos = grepTool.grep(
    "TODO|FIXME",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.content,
    null, null,
    2,                   // 2 lines context
    true,                // line numbers
    true,                // case insensitive
    null, null, null, null
);

2. Find Class Definitions¶

// Find all Spring Controllers
String controllers = grepTool.grep(
    "@RestController|@Controller",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.files_with_matches,
    null, null, null, null, null,
    "java",
    null, null, null
);

// Show controller methods with mappings
String mappings = grepTool.grep(
    "@(GetMapping|PostMapping|PutMapping|DeleteMapping)",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.content,
    null,
    3,                   // show method signature
    null, true, null, "java", null, null, null
);

3. Security Audit¶

// Find potential security issues
String secrets = grepTool.grep(
    "password|secret|api[_-]?key|token",
    ".",
    "**/*.{java,properties,yml,yaml}",
    OutputMode.content,
    1, 1, null, true,
    true,                // case insensitive
    null, null, null, null
);

// Find SQL injection risks
String sqlInjection = grepTool.grep(
    "executeQuery.*\\+|createQuery.*\\+",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.content,
    2, 2, null, true, null,
    "java",
    null, null, null
);

4. Dependency Analysis¶

// Find all Spring dependencies
String springImports = grepTool.grep(
    "^import.*springframework",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.count,
    null, null, null, null, null,
    "java",
    null, null, null
);

// Find deprecated API usage
String deprecated = grepTool.grep(
    "@Deprecated",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.content,
    null, 5, null, true, null,
    "java",
    null, null, null
);

5. Code Refactoring¶

// Find all usages of old method name
String usages = grepTool.grep(
    "\\boldMethodName\\b",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.files_with_matches,
    null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null
);

// Find specific pattern to refactor
String pattern = grepTool.grep(
    "new ArrayList<>\\(\\)",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.content,
    1, 1, null, true, null,
    "java",
    null, null, null
);

Spring Boot Integration¶

Basic Configuration¶

@Configuration
public class ToolsConfig {

    @Bean
    public GrepTool grepTool() {
        return GrepTool.builder().build();
    }
}

Custom Configuration¶

@Configuration
public class ToolsConfig {

    @Value("${grep.max-output-length:150000}")
    private int maxOutputLength;

    @Value("${grep.max-depth:50}")
    private int maxDepth;

    @Value("${grep.max-line-length:15000}")
    private int maxLineLength;

    @Bean
    public GrepTool grepTool() {
        return new GrepTool(maxOutputLength, maxDepth, maxLineLength);
    }
}

ChatClient Integration¶

@Configuration
public class AgentConfig {

    @Bean
    public ChatClient chatClient(ChatClient.Builder chatClientBuilder) {
        return chatClientBuilder
            .defaultTools(GrepTool.builder().build())
            .defaultTools(FileSystemTools.builder().build())
            .build();
    }
}

Usage with AI agent:

ChatClient chatClient = ...; // from bean

String response = chatClient.prompt()
    .user("Find all TODO comments in the src directory")
    .call()
    .content();
// AI automatically uses GrepTool to search and summarize

Best Practices¶

1. Choose the Right Output Mode¶

// ✅ GOOD: Use files_with_matches for file discovery
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, OutputMode.files_with_matches,
    null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

// ✅ GOOD: Use count for metrics
grepTool.grep("TODO", "./src", null, OutputMode.count,
    null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

// ✅ GOOD: Use content for code review
grepTool.grep("deprecated", "./src", null, OutputMode.content,
    null, null, 2, true, null, null, null, null, null);

// ❌ WASTEFUL: Using content mode when you only need file paths
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, OutputMode.content,
    null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

2. Use Type Filters for Standard Languages¶

// ✅ GOOD: Use type filter for standard languages
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null,
    "java", null, null, null);

// ❌ LESS EFFICIENT: Using glob when type filter exists
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", "**/*.java", null, null, null, null, null, null,
    null, null, null, null);

3. Add Context for Better Understanding¶

// ✅ GOOD: Include context lines for AI understanding
grepTool.grep("@Transactional", "./src", null, OutputMode.content,
    null, 3, null, true, null, "java", null, null, null);

// ❌ MINIMAL: No context makes it hard to understand
grepTool.grep("@Transactional", "./src", null, OutputMode.content,
    null, null, null, true, null, "java", null, null, null);

4. Use Specific Patterns¶

// ✅ GOOD: Specific pattern with word boundaries
grepTool.grep("\\bUserService\\b", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null,
    null, null, null, null);

// ❌ TOO BROAD: May match UserServiceImpl, UserServiceTest, etc.
grepTool.grep("UserService", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null,
    null, null, null, null);

5. Limit Results for Large Codebases¶

// ✅ GOOD: Use headLimit for large result sets
grepTool.grep("class", "./src", null, OutputMode.files_with_matches,
    null, null, null, null, null, null, 100, null, null);

// ❌ WASTEFUL: No limit may return thousands of results
grepTool.grep("class", "./src", null, OutputMode.files_with_matches,
    null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

6. Escape Special Regex Characters¶

// ✅ GOOD: Escape special characters
grepTool.grep("\\$\\{.*\\}", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null,
    null, null, null, null);

// ❌ WRONG: Special characters not escaped
grepTool.grep("${.*}", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null,
    null, null, null, null);
// { and } are regex special characters

Error Handling¶

The tool handles errors gracefully:

Empty pattern:

String result = grepTool.grep("", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);
// Returns empty result (no matches)

Invalid regex:

String result = grepTool.grep("[invalid", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);
// Logs error and returns empty result

Non-existent path:

String result = grepTool.grep("pattern", "/nonexistent/path", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);
// Returns empty result

Output truncation: - If results exceed maxOutputLength, output is truncated with warning in logs - Increase maxOutputLength in constructor for larger results

Performance Tips¶

1. Use Narrow Search Paths¶

// ✅ GOOD: Search specific directory
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src/main/java", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

// ❌ SLOW: Searching from root unnecessarily
grepTool.grep("pattern", ".", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

2. Filter Early with Type/Glob¶

// ✅ GOOD: Filter files before searching
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, "java", null, null, null);

// ❌ SLOW: Search all files then filter mentally
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

3. Use files_with_matches When Possible¶

// ✅ GOOD: Fast file discovery
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, OutputMode.files_with_matches, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

// ❌ SLOWER: Content mode when you only need files
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, OutputMode.content, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

4. Limit Results¶

// ✅ GOOD: Stop after finding enough
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, 50, null, null);

// ❌ WASTEFUL: Process all matches
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

5. Adjust Depth for Shallow Searches¶

// ✅ GOOD: Limit depth for shallow searches
GrepTool shallowGrep = new GrepTool(100000, 3, 10000);
shallowGrep.grep("pattern", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

Troubleshooting¶

No Results Found¶

Problem: Search returns empty results when you expect matches

Solutions:

Check pattern syntax:

// Test with simple literal pattern first
grepTool.grep("UserService", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

Verify path exists:

// Use absolute path to be sure
grepTool.grep("pattern", "/full/path/to/src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

Try case-insensitive search:

grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, true, null, null, null, null);

Remove filters temporarily:

// Remove type/glob filters
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

Pattern Not Matching as Expected¶

Problem: Regex pattern doesn't match what you expect

Solutions:

Escape special characters:

// ✅ Correct: Escaped brackets
grepTool.grep("List\\[String\\]", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

// ❌ Wrong: Unescaped brackets
grepTool.grep("List[String]", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

Test pattern incrementally:

// Start simple
grepTool.grep("User", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

// Add complexity
grepTool.grep("class.*User", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

// Full pattern
grepTool.grep("^public class.*User.*\\{", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

Use multiline mode for cross-line patterns:

grepTool.grep("class.*\\{[\\s\\S]*?method", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, true);

Output Truncated¶

Problem: Results are cut off

Solutions:

Increase maxOutputLength:

GrepTool largeGrep = new GrepTool(500000, 100, 10000);

Use headLimit to paginate:

// First 100 results
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, 100, 0, null);

// Next 100 results
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, 100, 100, null);

Use count mode first:

// See how many matches before getting content
String count = grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, OutputMode.count, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

Performance Issues¶

Problem: Search takes too long

Solutions:

Narrow search path:

// Instead of entire project
grepTool.grep("pattern", ".", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

// Search specific directory
grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src/main/java/com/example", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

Use type filters:

grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, "java", null, null, null);

Reduce depth:

GrepTool shallowGrep = new GrepTool(100000, 10, 10000);

Use files_with_matches mode:

grepTool.grep("pattern", "./src", null, OutputMode.files_with_matches, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null);

Lines Skipped¶

Problem: Warning about lines being skipped

Cause: Lines exceed maxLineLength (default: 10,000 characters)

Solution:

// Increase maxLineLength for minified code
GrepTool longLineGrep = new GrepTool(100000, 100, 50000);

Comparison with Traditional Grep¶

Feature	GrepTool	Traditional grep
Installation	None required	Requires grep/ripgrep installation
Cross-platform	✅ Pure Java	⚠️ Different syntax on Windows
Regex flavor	Java regex	POSIX regex
File filtering	Type + Glob	Complex find commands
Output modes	3 optimized modes	Manual formatting
AI integration	✅ Designed for agents	Manual parsing needed
Dependencies	Zero	External binaries
Performance	Good for most use cases	Faster for huge codebases (native)

When to use GrepTool: - AI agent code search - Cross-platform applications - Avoiding external dependencies - Integrated Spring AI workflows

When traditional grep might be better: - Massive codebases (millions of files) - Shell scripting outside Java - Need specific grep/ripgrep features

Advanced Examples¶

Multi-Pattern Search with Post-Processing¶

GrepTool grepTool = GrepTool.builder().build();

// Find all service classes
String services = grepTool.grep(
    "@Service|@Component",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.files_with_matches,
    null, null, null, null, null, "java", null, null, null
);

// Find all repositories
String repositories = grepTool.grep(
    "@Repository",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.files_with_matches,
    null, null, null, null, null, "java", null, null, null
);

// Combine results for architectural analysis

Codebase Statistics¶

// Count total classes
String classCount = grepTool.grep(
    "^(public |private |protected )?class \\w+",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.count,
    null, null, null, null, null, "java", null, null, null
);

// Count interfaces
String interfaceCount = grepTool.grep(
    "^(public |private )?interface \\w+",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.count,
    null, null, null, null, null, "java", null, null, null
);

// Count test methods
String testCount = grepTool.grep(
    "@Test",
    "./src/test",
    null,
    OutputMode.count,
    null, null, null, null, null, "java", null, null, null
);

Security Scanning¶

// Comprehensive security audit
GrepTool grepTool = GrepTool.builder().build();

// 1. Find hardcoded credentials
String credentials = grepTool.grep(
    "(password|secret|apikey|token)\\s*=\\s*[\"'][^\"']+[\"']",
    ".",
    "**/*.{java,properties,yml,yaml}",
    OutputMode.content,
    1, 1, null, true, true, null, null, null, null
);

// 2. Find SQL injection risks
String sqlRisks = grepTool.grep(
    "executeQuery.*\\+|createQuery.*\\+",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.content,
    2, 2, null, true, null, "java", null, null, null
);

// 3. Find XSS vulnerabilities
String xssRisks = grepTool.grep(
    "innerHTML|eval\\(|document\\.write",
    "./src",
    "**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}",
    OutputMode.content,
    1, 1, null, true, null, null, null, null, null
);

// 4. Find unsafe deserialization
String deserializationRisks = grepTool.grep(
    "readObject|XMLDecoder|Yaml\\.load",
    "./src",
    null,
    OutputMode.content,
    2, 2, null, true, null, "java", null, null, null
);

GrepTool¶

Overview¶

Basic Usage¶

Custom Configuration¶

Configuration Parameters¶

Method Parameters¶

Output Modes¶

1. files_with_matches (Default)¶

2. count¶

3. content¶

Context Lines¶

Lines After Match (-A)¶

Lines Before Match (-B)¶

Lines Surrounding Match (-C)¶

File Filtering¶

By File Type¶

By Glob Pattern¶

Combining Type and Glob¶

Pattern Matching¶

Basic Regex Patterns¶

Common Search Patterns¶

Case-Insensitive Search¶

Multiline Patterns¶

Limiting Results¶

Head Limit¶

Offset¶

Common Use Cases¶

1. Find All TODOs¶

2. Find Class Definitions¶

3. Security Audit¶

4. Dependency Analysis¶

5. Code Refactoring¶

Spring Boot Integration¶

Basic Configuration¶

Custom Configuration¶

ChatClient Integration¶

Best Practices¶

1. Choose the Right Output Mode¶

2. Use Type Filters for Standard Languages¶

3. Add Context for Better Understanding¶

4. Use Specific Patterns¶

5. Limit Results for Large Codebases¶

6. Escape Special Regex Characters¶

Error Handling¶

Performance Tips¶

1. Use Narrow Search Paths¶

2. Filter Early with Type/Glob¶

3. Use files_with_matches When Possible¶

4. Limit Results¶

5. Adjust Depth for Shallow Searches¶

Troubleshooting¶

No Results Found¶

Pattern Not Matching as Expected¶

Output Truncated¶

Performance Issues¶

Lines Skipped¶

Comparison with Traditional Grep¶

Advanced Examples¶

Multi-Pattern Search with Post-Processing¶

Codebase Statistics¶

Security Scanning¶

See Also¶