mgrep

name	mgrep
description	Semantic search for code and web. Use mgrep for natural-language/intent queries and web search. Use built-in Grep for exact strings/regex. Use Glob for file names.

Search Tool Selection

mgrep is ONE of your search tools, not a replacement for all of them. Choose the right tool:

Tool	When	Examples
mgrep	Semantic/intent queries, natural language	"where is authentication handled", "how do payments work"
mgrep --web --answer	Web search (replaces WebSearch)	"React 19 server components API", "OWASP top 10 2025"
Grep (built-in)	Exact strings, regex patterns, literal matches	class UserAuth, def.*process, TODO:, import foo
Glob (built-in)	Finding files by name/path pattern	**/*.ts, src/components/**/*.tsx, **/test_*.py

Decision Tree

What are you looking for?

|- A file by name/path pattern?
|  -> Glob (built-in)
|
|- An exact string or regex in file contents?
|  -> Grep (built-in)
|  Examples: class names, function signatures, imports, error strings
|
|- Something described by intent or meaning?
|  -> mgrep "your natural language query"
|  Examples: "where do we validate user input", "rate limiting logic"
|
|- Information from the web?
   -> mgrep --web --answer "your query"

How to Use mgrep

Run via Bash. No need to cd anywhere — it works from any directory.

Local semantic search

mgrep "What code parsers are available?"
mgrep "How are chunks defined?" src/models
mgrep -m 10 "What is the maximum number of concurrent workers?"

Web search

mgrep --web --answer "How to configure Tailwind v4 dark mode"

Always use --web with --answer together.

Good queries (natural language, descriptive)

mgrep "How does the authentication flow work?"
mgrep "Where are database migrations defined?"

Bad queries (too vague or too literal)

mgrep "parser"              # Too vague — use a more specific query
mgrep "class UserAuth"      # Too literal — use Grep for exact strings

Common Mistakes

Using mgrep for exact matches:

• Bad: mgrep "class UserAuth" — wastes semantic search on a literal string
• Good: Grep for class UserAuth — instant, exact, no ambiguity

Using Grep for semantic queries:

• Bad: Grep for authentication hoping to find all auth-related code
• Good: mgrep "where is authentication handled" — finds conceptually related code

Using mgrep when Glob suffices:

• Bad: mgrep "find all TypeScript test files"
• Good: Glob for **/*.test.ts

Keywords

semantic search, web search, search the web, look up online, internet search, online search, search, local files, local search, natural language search