Install ugrep with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository

Commands and aliases

• ug
• ug+
• ugrep
• ugrep+
• ugrep-indexer

Project history

The public ugrep repository was created in 2019. Its README presents the project as compatible with GNU and BSD grep while adding features usually associated with newer search tools, including recursive source search, gitignore-style globs, compressed and nested archive search, document filters, hexdumps, and multi-line Unicode-aware regular expressions.

The project developed a split command model: ug for interactive use with optional .ugrep configuration files, ugrep for batch use without a configuration file, and plus variants that enable filters for PDFs, documents, e-books, and image metadata. That division is important to packagers because it exposes both script-stable and user-preference-oriented entry points.

Release metadata shows an active release stream: early 2.x releases appeared in 2020, and the repository had reached the 7.x series by 2026, with v7.8.2 published in May 2026.

Adoption history

The supplied package data records ugrep across a broad package-manager set, including Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora/dnf, Arch/pacman, Alpine/apk, openSUSE/zypper, Chocolatey, Scoop, and winget. That spread matches the README's positioning as both a Unix grep replacement and a cross-platform search utility.

Official project material links to dedicated benchmark, testing, indexing, and user-guide resources, which helped ugrep become more than a single binary: it has an associated performance story, validation suite, and optional indexer for slower or cold filesystems.

How it is used

Package users typically install ugrep as a faster grep-compatible search command while keeping the option to symlink or alias ug to grep, egrep, or fgrep when compatibility is desired. The README distinguishes this from grep alternatives that intentionally drop parts of grep's option and regex behavior.

Common package-nerd uses include searching source trees with globs and ignore files, querying compressed tarballs and archives without unpacking them, opening the -Q TUI for exploratory searches, using fuzzy or Boolean matching for approximate discovery, and emitting JSON, XML, CSV, or custom formats for scripts.

ug's .ugrep and ~/.ugrep support lets interactive users save preferred defaults, while ugrep remains the safer command for scripts that should not depend on per-user configuration.

Why package nerds care

ugrep matters in the package-manager niche because grep replacements are unusually sensitive to compatibility, speed, and defaults. It tries to be installable as a modern search tool without forcing users to give up classic grep semantics.

Its packaging footprint also makes it a good example of a CLI that has to behave consistently across Unix, macOS, and Windows package ecosystems while still integrating with local helper tools such as file-type filters, pagers, and archive libraries.

Timeline

• 2019: Public GitHub repository created.
• 2020: 2.x releases published on GitHub.
• 2026: v7.8.2 release published.
• 2026: Repository metadata described ugrep 7.8 as a grep-compatible searcher with TUI, Boolean search, fuzzy search, archive search, document search, and structured output.

Related projects

• The README compares ugrep with GNU grep, BSD grep, ripgrep, the Silver Searcher, and ack.
• Official related repositories include ugrep-indexer for file indexing, ugrep-benchmarks for performance results, and ugrep-testing for validation.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/Genivia/ugrep
• https://api.github.com/repos/Genivia/ugrep/releases?per_page=5
• https://github.com/Genivia/ugrep
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Genivia/ugrep/master/README.md
• https://ugrep.com/
• source_facts.package-manager