The modern, customizable and tabbed Windows grep experience.
Search native drives, UNC shares, Docker containers, and entire WSL distributions with instant previews, Regex visualizations, and safe bulk replace—all powered by WinUI 3 and .NET 8.
If you like this project, a star ⭐️ would mean a lot :)
👉 Quick Start • Features • Usage Guide • Architecture • Build & Test
- Lightning-fast scanning – Streamed IO, smart caching, and optional Windows Search acceleration keep huge repos responsive
- Windows + WSL, one workflow – Switch between
C:\,\\server, and\\wsl$\Ubuntuwithout touching a terminal - Docker container search – Search directly inside running containers using the Docker API or local mirroring
- AI-assisted search chat – Start an AI discussion from the Search tab using your path, query, and active filters as context
- Visual Regex Builder – Design patterns with presets and live breakdowns before unleashing them on your codebase
- Safe replace – Confirmation dialogs, per-file summaries, and culture-aware matching make global edits reliable
- Context preview – Peek at the surrounding lines for a match without opening the file (like
grep -C) - Search within results – Instantly filter the current results list without re-scanning the filesystem
- Search profiles – Save and recall named searches (path + filters) from the command bar
- Export results – Copy to clipboard or export to CSV/JSON for reporting and automation
- Search history – Re-run or tweak recent searches without re-entering paths and filters
- CLI mode – Headless command-line interface (
grex-cli) for script integration with grep-compatible output - Multilingual UI – 100 languages supported with instant interface updates
- Modern Windows design – Tabs, command bar, column controls, and a Mica-coated shell feel native on Windows 11
Download the latest release from the Releases page or build from source:
Requirements: Windows 10 1809+ (or Windows 11), .NET 8 SDK, and Windows App Runtime 1.8
Install the required dependencies:
# Install .NET 8.0 SDK winget install Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.8 # Install Windows App Runtime winget install Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime.1.8
git clone https://github.com/visorcraft/Grex.git
cd Grex
dotnet build grex.sln -p:Platform=x64
.\bin\x64\Debug\net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0\Grex.exe- Pick a path – Browse or paste
C:\repo,\\server\logs, or\\wsl$\Ubuntu\home\user - Choose search mode – Plain text or Regex; Content (per-line) or Files (per-file) results
- Refine filters – Toggle
.gitignore, hidden/system/bin/link flags, filename patterns, size limits, and Windows Search seeding - Run / replace – Press Enter to search, fill "Replace with" for bulk edits, and confirm the safety dialog
- Inspect results – Sort, resize, hide columns, filter within results, or double-click to open files. Tabs keep parallel searches isolated
- Target Docker containers – Enable in Settings, select a container from the dropdown, and search container paths directly
- Use AI search chat (optional) – Configure endpoint/API key/model in Settings, click the AI button, and refine results in a chat view
Need the full walkthrough? See the Usage Guide.
Grex includes an AI discussion mode on the Search tab:
- Click AI in the command bar to switch from result tables to a chat panel.
- Grex sends the current search path, search query, and active filter states as context/filtering suggestions.
- Continue with follow-up prompts in the chat box to narrow where to look next.
AI settings are configured in Settings → AI Search:
- Endpoint URL (OpenAI-compatible base URL)
- API Key (optional)
- Model (optional; leave blank to auto-detect from
/v1/models, then fallback togpt-4o-mini) - Test Endpoint button (probes
GET /v1/modelswith your current endpoint/API key and reports success or failure)
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| Features | Complete feature reference with advanced options |
| Usage Guide | Step-by-step workflows and examples |
| Architecture | Technical design, components, and search flow |
| Build & Test | Build commands, test suite, and asset generation |
| Technical Reference | Keyboard shortcuts, settings schema, encoding details |
| Translations | Localization system and adding new languages |
# Restore & build
dotnet restore
dotnet build grex.sln -p:Platform=x64
# Run all tests
dotnet test grex.sln -p:Platform=x64For detailed build configurations, CI pipelines, and asset generation, see Build & Test Reference.
Issues and pull requests are welcome! Please:
- Keep new UI strings in the
.reswfiles so localization stays in sync - Run
dotnet test grex.sln -p:Platform=x64before submitting - Add or update docs under
docs/when you ship new features
Released under the GNU General Public License v3.0. See LICENSE for details.
Created by VisorCraft