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grep regex examples 

Dr. Xi
Joined:
04/09/2007
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March 28, 2011 11:11:33    Last update: March 28, 2011 11:13:21
grep is a versatile command with many variations (grep, egrep, fgrep, then various implementations). It uses a regula expression (regex) pattern to filter input. But then there are basic and extended flavors of regex - leading to even more confusion. And, beware that there are lots of bad examples of regex in the wild...

There are two critical questions to ask when you use grep:
  1. which grep implementation are you using?
  2. what is the flavor of the regex?


Here are some examples for gnu grep v2.7: 
# Find all numbers (no decimal point), basic regex
grep '\b[0-9]*\b'

# Find all numbers (including decimal), basic regex.
# This is not working exactly, 210.333.8844 matches, but it's not a valid decimal number
grep '\b[.0-9]*\b'

# Match all two digit numbers, basic regex
grep '\b[0-9]\{2\}\b'

# Match two digit numbers, extended regex
grep -E '\b[0-9]{2}\b'

# Look for hpfs or ntfs, case insensitive, Perl regex
grep -P '(hpfs|ntfs)' -i


Use the -o flag to show only the matching part instead of the whole matching line: 
grep -o -E '\b[0-9]{2}\b'


The good thing about the gnu grep is that it allows you to use different regex flavors with a switch. So if you know Perl regex, there's no need to learn a new regex syntax. Just use the -P switch with a Perl regex. The --help option gives the most concise guide about how to use gnu grep: 
$ grep --help
Usage: grep [OPTION]... PATTERN [FILE]...
Search for PATTERN in each FILE or standard input.
PATTERN is, by default, a basic regular expression (BRE).
Example: grep -i 'hello world' menu.h main.c

Regexp selection and interpretation:
  -E, --extended-regexp     PATTERN is an extended regular expression (ERE)
  -F, --fixed-strings       PATTERN is a set of newline-separated fixed strings
  -G, --basic-regexp        PATTERN is a basic regular expression (BRE)
  -P, --perl-regexp         PATTERN is a Perl regular expression
  -e, --regexp=PATTERN      use PATTERN for matching
  -f, --file=FILE           obtain PATTERN from FILE
  -i, --ignore-case         ignore case distinctions
  -w, --word-regexp         force PATTERN to match only whole words
  -x, --line-regexp         force PATTERN to match only whole lines
  -z, --null-data           a data line ends in 0 byte, not newline

Miscellaneous:
  -s, --no-messages         suppress error messages
  -v, --invert-match        select non-matching lines
  -V, --version             print version information and exit
      --help                display this help and exit
      --mmap                ignored for backwards compatibility

Output control:
  -m, --max-count=NUM       stop after NUM matches
  -b, --byte-offset         print the byte offset with output lines
  -n, --line-number         print line number with output lines
      --line-buffered       flush output on every line
  -H, --with-filename       print the filename for each match
  -h, --no-filename         suppress the prefixing filename on output
      --label=LABEL         print LABEL as filename for standard input
  -o, --only-matching       show only the part of a line matching PATTERN
  -q, --quiet, --silent     suppress all normal output
      --binary-files=TYPE   assume that binary files are TYPE;
                            TYPE is `binary', `text', or `without-match'
  -a, --text                equivalent to --binary-files=text
  -I                        equivalent to --binary-files=without-match
  -d, --directories=ACTION  how to handle directories;
                            ACTION is `read', `recurse', or `skip'
  -D, --devices=ACTION      how to handle devices, FIFOs and sockets;
                            ACTION is `read' or `skip'
  -R, -r, --recursive       equivalent to --directories=recurse
      --include=FILE_PATTERN  search only files that match FILE_PATTERN
      --exclude=FILE_PATTERN  skip files and directories matching FILE_PATTERN
      --exclude-from=FILE   skip files matching any file pattern from FILE
      --exclude-dir=PATTERN  directories that match PATTERN will be skipped.
  -L, --files-without-match  print only names of FILEs containing no match
  -l, --files-with-matches  print only names of FILEs containing matches
  -c, --count               print only a count of matching lines per FILE
  -T, --initial-tab         make tabs line up (if needed)
  -Z, --null                print 0 byte after FILE name

Context control:
  -B, --before-context=NUM  print NUM lines of leading context
  -A, --after-context=NUM   print NUM lines of trailing context
  -C, --context=NUM         print NUM lines of output context
  -NUM                      same as --context=NUM
      --color[=WHEN],
      --colour[=WHEN]       use markers to highlight the matching strings;
                            WHEN is `always', `never', or `auto'
  -U, --binary              do not strip CR characters at EOL (MSDOS)
  -u, --unix-byte-offsets   report offsets as if CRs were not there (MSDOS)

`egrep' means `grep -E'.  `fgrep' means `grep -F'.
Direct invocation as either `egrep' or `fgrep' is deprecated.
With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.  If less than two FILEs
are given, assume -h.  Exit status is 0 if any line was selected, 1 otherwise;
if any error occurs and -q was not given, the exit status is 2.

Report bugs to: bug-grep@gnu.org
GNU Grep home page: <http://www.gnu.org/software/grep/>
General help using GNU software: <http://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>
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