Findstr: The Windows Grep Equivalent Tool

Need to search text in files using Windows Command Prompt? Findstr is your built-in solution - no installation needed.

Basic Usage

findstr "search-term" "path\to\file.txt"

Essential Switches

• /i - Ignore case
• /c:"text" - Search for literal text string
• /s - Search in current directory and all subdirectories
• /n - Display line numbers with output lines
• /v - Display lines that do not contain the search string

Practical Examples

Case-insensitive search:

findstr /i "error" log.txt

Search for exact phrase:

findstr /c:"hello world" message.txt

Recursive search in all text files:

findstr /s /i "warning" *.txt

Multiple file search:

findstr "error" log1.txt log2.txt log3.txt

Pro Tips

1. Combine switches for powerful searches:

   findstr /s /i /n "error" *.log
   

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2. Use wildcards for file types:

   findstr /s "password" *.*
   

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3. Search for multiple strings:

   findstr "error warning critical" log.txt
   

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Finding text in Windows doesn't have to be complicated. Findstr provides grep-like functionality right out of the box.