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Even if the answer is instant, you have a 50% performance improvement in your search just from typing "rg" instead of "grep"!

From my perspective it's a no brainer. I don't HAVE a grep (because I don't have a Unix) so when I install a grep, any grep, reaching for rg is natural. It's modern and maintained. I have no scripts anywhere that might expect grep to be called "grep".

Of course if you already have a grep (e.g. you run Unix/Linux) then the story is different. Your system probably already has a grep. Replacing it takes effort and that effort needs to have some return.



Well, a cmd script for msys64 grep in my \CmdTools is named `gr`. It feels more natural, because index-then-middle finger also does. Thinking of it, I actually hate starting anything with a middle finger (no pun). Also learning new things that do the same thing as the old one.


You can alias `grep` to `gr` or even `rg`. Installing a whole entire different program just to type a shorter name is a crazy contrived justification.

I imagine a lot of devs have grep preinstalled. In fact, where is grep not installed, now that WSL exists?


Even faster, I have an alias 'ss' (mnemonic for 'super search') for rg. Fitts' Law to the max!


What do you use a single "s" for?


git status --untracked-files=all

sn is 'git status --untracked-files=no'.




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