Published on crates.io as xerg
An ultra-fast grep alternative with structured output and smart performance optimizations. Perfect for developers who need speed without sacrificing readability.
🚀 Up to 34x faster than system grep on large directory structures with structured output. Optional -x (xtreme) mode delivers maximum speedup when raw speed matters most.
- ⚡ Parallel processing: Multi-core file scanning for maximum speed
- 🎨 Pretty output: Syntax highlighting and structured results
- 🔍 Modern regex: PCRE support with advanced features beyond standard grep
- 🔧 Drop-in replacement: Familiar grep-like interface
- 🚀 Smart modes: Default (pretty) or
-x(raw speed) - 📊 Statistics: Optional detailed metrics with
--stats
xerg excels in different scenarios depending on your use case:
| Scenario | Tool/Mode | Time (avg) | CPU Usage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single File Search | System grep | 4.0ms | ~58% | Baseline (single-file) |
| xerg (default) | 3.0ms | ~121% | 1.0ms faster (25% speedup) | |
| xerg -x | 3.0ms | ~109% | 1.0ms faster (25% speedup) | |
| Small multi-file set (src/ ~8 files) | System grep | 3.0ms | ~77% | Small set baseline |
| xerg (default) | 3.0ms | ~137% | Performance parity achieved | |
| xerg -x | 4.0ms | ~168% | 1.0ms slower (25% overhead) | |
| Large Dataset (target/ - many files) | System grep | 28,122ms | ~96% | Heavy single-threaded workload |
| xerg (default) | 1,590ms | ~484% | 17.7x faster than grep | |
| xerg -x | 835ms | ~745% | 33.7x faster than grep |
| Aspect | xerg (default formatted) | xerg -x (xtreme) |
|---|---|---|
| Output Format | Pretty headers, structured | Raw file:line:content |
| Speed | Fast (23x vs grep) | Fastest (33x vs grep) |
| Use Case | Most users, development | Raw speed, automation |
| Memory Usage | Higher (buffering) | Lower (direct output) |
| CPU Usage | 650% (6.5 cores) | 690% (6.9 cores) |
✅ Structured output with pretty formatting
✅ Code exploration and development work
✅ Human-readable results with file headers
✅ Most users - balanced speed + readability
✅ Maximum raw speed when structure isn't needed
✅ Shell pipelines and automation scripts
✅ CI/CD tasks where every millisecond counts
✅ Grep-compatible output for tool integration
✅ Single file searches
✅ Simple shell scripting
✅ One-off quick searches
Test Environment: macOS, Multi-core system, Release builds
Key Finding: Default mode provides excellent performance with readability; -x maximizes raw speed
cargo install xerg-
Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/yinkam/xtreme-grep.git cd xtreme-grep -
Build the project:
cargo build --release
Use the included Makefile for common development tasks:
make help # Show all available commands
make build # Build the project
make test # Run all tests
make run # Run with default parameters
make clean # Clean build artifacts
make release # Build optimized release binary
make all # Build, test, and create releaseUsing the installed binary:
# Basic search in current directory
xerg "pattern" .
# Search with colored output, statistics, and specific path
xerg --color blue --stats "pattern" src/For development (from source):
# Basic search in current directory
cargo run "pattern" .
# Search with colored output, statistics, and specific path
cargo run --color blue --stats "pattern" src/
# Or use the built binary directly
./target/release/xerg --color green --stats "pattern" /path/to/search| Option | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
pattern |
Search pattern (required) | "use" |
path |
File or directory to search (optional, defaults to current directory) | src/ |
--color <COLOR> |
Highlight color: red, green, blue, bold |
--color blue |
--stats |
Show detailed search statistics | --stats |
--help |
Display help information | --help |
--version |
Show version information | --version |
$ xerg --stats --color blue "use" src/
--- /Users/user/rust-grep/src/lib.rs ---
8: use colors::Color;
9: use crawler::get_files;
10: use result::print_result;
--- /Users/user/rust-grep/src/main.rs ---
15: use greprs::{run_search, Config};
16: use std::process;
lines: 45, matches: 2, skipped: 0
result: files:8; lines:1186; matches:207; skipped:0; errors:0; time:0.012s;Structured Result Format: Machine-readable summary with semicolon delimiters and millisecond-precision timing. Perfect for performance analysis and automated testing.
Metrics: files = processed files, lines = total lines read, matches = pattern occurrences, skipped = unreadable lines, errors = access failures, time = execution time
Multi-core Processing: Utilizes cores - 1 threads for optimal performance
Smart File Reading: Adaptive strategy based on file size (streaming/bulk/memory-mapped)
Memory Efficient: Handles files of any size without excessive memory usage
- Auto-color detection (
--color=auto) - Silent mode (
-s,--silent) - Case insensitive search (
-i,--ignore-case) - Invert matching (
-v,--invert-match) - Multi-pattern support
- File type filtering
- Line number display (
-n,--line-number)
See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines on how to contribute to this project.
This is a learning-focused project demonstrating comprehensive Rust development practices. Contributions that enhance the educational value are especially welcome.
This project is open source and available under the MIT License.
Built during the Pragmatic AI Labs Rust Bootcamp