use-grep-and-glob

name	use-grep-and-glob
description	Find files and code patterns fast. Use for every codebase question that starts with "where is X" or "how is Y used".

Use Grep and Glob

Treat Grep and Glob as the first tools, not the last. Reading whole files to find something is a last resort.

Choose the right tool

• Glob for file discovery by name or path (src/**/*.test.ts, **/package.json).
• Grep for content search (regex, case-sensitive by default). Prefer it over reading files when you're looking for a specific string.

Patterns worth knowing

• Search by filetype: pass type: "ts" to Grep; faster and avoids lockfiles / node_modules noise.
• Show surrounding context: -C 3 (3 lines before + after). Use when the match alone isn't enough.
• Scope by path: Grep's path argument limits the search subtree; useful when you already have a lead.
• Case-insensitive with -i — only when you know the symbol capitalization varies.

When to escalate to Agent/Explore

If a question would require more than a handful of Grep/Glob calls to answer, launch the Explore agent instead of running them serially yourself. The Explore agent parallelizes and returns a summary — cheaper than iterating one grep at a time.

Output

End with ## Findings listing path:line references. Direct quotes from matches are fine when they clarify; do not paraphrase what the code actually says.