# Install jvgrep with Homebrew

Grep for Japanese users of Vim. Version 5.8.16 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-25.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:jvgrep
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install jvgrep
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:jvgrep
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 5.8.16
- **Source summary:** Grep for Japanese users of Vim
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/mattn/jvgrep>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/mattn/jvgrep>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-25T20:58:06-04:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- jvgrep (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 5.8.16
## Project history and usage

jvgrep is a grep-like command-line search tool by Yasuhiro Matsumoto for Japanese Vim users. It searches files written in Japanese encodings and can be set as Vim's `grepprg`.

### Project history

The jvgrep repository was created on 2011-08-19. Its README describes a focused problem: searching text in files written with Japanese encodings such as ISO-2022-JP, EUC-JP, Shift_JIS/CP932, UTF-8, and UTF-16.

The project has long stayed small and utilitarian. Its public releases show continued maintenance across Go toolchain eras, including v5-series releases and a v5.8.16 release on 2026-04-13.

### Adoption history

jvgrep's adoption appears narrow and language-community-specific. The input package metadata lists Homebrew packaging, and the README documents `brew install jvgrep` for macOS along with Go installation commands.

Its value is strongest for Vim users and Japanese text workflows where ordinary grep behavior can be uncomfortable around legacy encodings and multibyte regular expressions.

### How it is used

jvgrep is used like grep with options for recursive search, fixed-string or regular-expression matching, color, line numbers, match counts, and encoding selection. Users can set `JVGREP_ENCODINGS` and `JVGREP_OUTPUT_ENCODING` to tune input and output encoding behavior.

In Vim, adding `set grepprg=jvgrep` makes Vim's grep integration call jvgrep instead of the platform grep.

### Why package nerds care

jvgrep is package-nerd interesting because it preserves a local need that generic Unix tools often flatten: Japanese encodings, Vim integration, and grep ergonomics in one small Go command.

It also reflects a common Homebrew pattern: small, durable utilities with a very specific audience can still be worth packaging because they solve one awkward workflow cleanly.

### Timeline

- 2011-08-19: The jvgrep GitHub repository is created.
- 2018-04-24: jvgrep v5.6.0 is published on GitHub.
- 2020-06-14: jvgrep v5.8.8 is published on GitHub.
- 2026-04-13: jvgrep v5.8.16 is published on GitHub.

### Related projects

- Vim is the editor integration target documented by jvgrep.
- grep is the Unix search interface that jvgrep specializes for Japanese text.
- Go is the implementation and installation toolchain documented by the project.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/mattn/jvgrep>
- <https://api.github.com/repos/mattn/jvgrep/releases>
- <https://github.com/mattn/jvgrep>
- <https://github.com/mattn/jvgrep/releases>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattn/jvgrep/master/README.md>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/jvgrep.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/jvgrep.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph