How to Exclude Patterns, Files, and Directories With grep

Since 1974, the Linux grep command has been helping people find strings in files. But sometimes grep is just too thorough. Here are several ways to tell grep to ignore different things. The grep Command The grep command searches text files looking for strings that match the search patterns you provide on the command line. The power of grep lies in its use of regular expressions. These let you describe what you're looking for, rather than have to explicitly define it. The birth of grep pre-dates Linux. it was developed in the early 1970s on Unix. It takes its name from the g/re/p key sequence in the ed line editor (incidentally, pronounced "ee-dee"). This stood for g lobal, re gular express search, p rint matching lines. grep is famously—perhaps, notoriously—thorough and single-minded. Sometimes it'll search files or directories you'd rather it didn't waste its time on, because the results can leave you unable to see the wood for the trees. RELATED How to Use the grep Command on Linux Of course, there are ways to reign grep in. You can tell it to ignore patterns, files, and directories so that grep completes its searches faster, and you're not swamped with… Read full this story

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