Frequent Question: How Do I Search for All Text in a File in Linux?
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Grep is a Linux / Unix command-line tool used to search for a string of characters in a specified file. The text search pattern is called a regular expression. When it finds a match, it prints the line with the result. The grep command is handy when searching through large log files.

How do I find text within files in Linux?

To find files containing specific text in Linux, do the following.

  1. Open your favorite terminal app. XFCE4 terminal is my personal preference.
  2. Navigate (if required) to the folder in which you are going to search files with some specific text.
  3. Type the following command: grep -iRl “your-text-to-find” ./

How do I search for a specific word in a file in Unix?

The grep command searches through the file, looking for matches to the pattern specified. To use it type grep , then the pattern we’re searching for and finally the name of the file (or files) we’re searching in. The output is the three lines in the file that contain the letters ‘not’.

James H. Sterling

James H. Sterling

Environmental Science & Climate Journalist

James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.

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