findstr
| Other names | qgrep |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Microsoft,ReactOS Contributors |
| Operating system | Windows,ReactOS |
| Platform | Cross-platform |
| Type | Command |
| License | Windows:Proprietarycommercial software ReactOS:GNU General Public License |
| Website | docs |
Incomputing,findstris acommandin thecommand-line interpreters(shells) ofMicrosoft Windows[1][2]andReactOS.[3]It is used to search for a specifictext stringincomputer files.[4]
Overview
The command sends the specified lines to thestandard outputdevice.[5]
It is similar to thefindcommand. However, while thefindcommand supportsUTF-16,findstrdoes not. On the other hand,findstrsupportsregular expressions,whichfinddoes not.
Thefindstrprogram was first released as part of theWindows 2000Resource Kitunder the nameqgrep.[6]
findstrcannot search fornull bytescommonly found inUnicodecomputer files.[7]
Syntax
FINDSTR flags strings [drive:][path]filename[...]
Arguments:
flagsThis can be any combination of flags described below.stringsText to be searched for.[drive:][path]filenameSpecifies a file or files to search.
Flags:
/BMatches pattern if at the beginning of a line./EMatches pattern if at the end of a line./LUses search strings literally./RUses search strings as regular expressions./SSearches for matching files in the current directory and all subdirectories./ISpecifies that the search is not to be case-sensitive./XPrints lines that match exactly./VPrints only lines that do not contain a match./NPrints the line number before each line that matches./MPrints only the filename if a file contains a match./OPrints character offset before each matching line./PSkip files with non-printable characters./OFF[LINE]Do not skip files with offline attribute set./A:attrSpecifies color attribute with two hex digits. See "color /?"/F:fileReads file list from the specified file(/ stands for console)./C:stringUses specified string as a literal search string./G:fileGets search strings from the specified file(/ stands for console)./D:dirSearch a semicolon delimited list of directories
Note: Following command displays the detailed help about this command:
FINDSTR /?
Example
Save your running services into file _services.txt and search in this file for lines containing word "network" - case insensitive:
@echooff
setsearchstr=network
net start>_services.txt
FINDSTR /I"%searchstr%"_services.txt
pause
output would be:
Network Connections
Network List Service
Network Location Awareness
Network Store Interface Service
Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service
Press any key to continue...
See also
References
- ^Microsoft WinXP documentation for findstr
- ^Microsoft Server 2012/2016 documentation for findstr
- ^"Reactos/Reactos".GitHub.16 October 2021.
- ^MS-DOS and Windows command line findstr command
- ^Excellent documentation on usage of findstr
- ^History of Findstr from Raymond Chen
- ^Findstr - Search for strings - Windows CMD - SS64.com
Further reading
- Stanek, William R. (2008).Windows Command-Line Administrator's Pocket Consultant, 2nd Edition.Microsoft Press.ISBN978-0735622623.
- John Paul Mueller (2007).Windows Administration at the Command Line for Windows Vista, Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000.John Wiley & Sons.ISBN978-0470165799.